A Memphis City Council member asked the Shelby County Health Department to appear in front of the body to address concerns including potential pollution sources and how predominantly Black communities are affected by heavy industrial areas.
Councilwoman Yolanda Cooper-Sutton asked for her request to be made on the record during a Tuesday meeting of the council’s Planning and Zoning Committee.
The department had provided Cooper-Sutton with answers regarding air-quality monitoring, pollution level concerns, and more. While the councilwoman said she appreciated written answers, she said the health department has not responded to requests for public dissemination in front of the council.
“Written responses to do not replace a public presentation where council members can ask questions, review neighborhood-level information, and discuss how residents are being protected,” Cooper-Sutton said.
“We don’t control the air over here on the city’s side,” Cooper-Sutton said.
“When you get ready to protest, and you want to fight, and your argument is legit you go across the street. They should have the answers we’re looking for. They need to answer us as a council.”
Cooper-Sutton’s clarifications come as the council continues to weigh concerns over data center expansions and community impact. She stressed that the county has jurisdiction over air quality and air pollution regulations, while the council has control over zoning.
“When you come in talking about air — that’s not in my wheelhouse, you need to be across the street doing that,” Cooper-Sutton said.
The comments were made during a robust discussion about data center regulations including the Council’s proposed data center moratorium.
The council voted to move the ordinance’s third and final vote to October, though it was originally scheduled for Tuesday.
Council member Jeff Warren made a motion for the council to request the department appear in front of the body. The motion was seconded by Council member Ford Canale.
Committee chair Philip Spinosa said this marked a collective effort as a body to support Cooper-Sutton’s request to the county agency to appear during the council’s October 6th meeting.
Cooper-Sutton’s request and comments were followed by a presentation from Chunrong Jia, professor of Environmental Health at the University of Memphis.
Jia and other researchers focused on impacts from the Colossus 1 data center in Southwest Memphis.
Researchers found that since operating gas turbines in September 2024 there hasn’t been a “significant deterioration” in air quality in surrounding neighborhoods. These same neighborhoods also did not see a “significant increase” in surface temperature.
Air quality data was conducted via satellite as there were no field monitoring results.
“After the launch of xAI on [September 1, 2024], surface temperature slightly decreased but the change was insignificant in Boxtown and Riverview,” researchers said.
There is also a “lack of health data” for these “potentially impacted areas” which resulted in an absence of community health data. Researchers recommended a health assessment along with local field air monitoring and a survey of socioeconomic impacts.
Cooper-Sutton asked Jia if he had difficulty getting a response and collecting from the Shelby County Health Department, to which he said he didn’t.
