A state operating permit has been issued for the Colossus Water Recycling Plant located on 3231 Paul R. Lowry Road.
The permit was issued to CTC Property LLC by the Tennessee’s Department of Environment and Conservation’s Division of Water Resources(TDEC). The plant will allow treated wastewater from Memphis that flows into the Mississippi River to be treated and used for “industrial cooling.”
According to TDEC this plant will preserve use of up to 13 million gallons of aquifer water per day.
“Issuing an operating permit to CTC Property LLC to authorize and regulate treatment of wastewater from the T.E. Maxson sewage treatment plant for industrial cooling to reduce use of Memphis Sand Aquifer Water is facilitating a positive change in industrial behavior,” TDEC said.
A notice of determination from the department said the division granted the permit after reviewing public comments made prior to the division.
CTC applied for the permit in February of last year. After the public became aware of the proposed construction site via a public notice sign, several people requested the division host a public hearing.
“[The requests] were in response to the sign posting and the division’s public notice on April 15, 2025 of its intent to issue the company an operating permit for a proposed reuse system,” the document said.
The division held a virtual public hearing on June 25, 2025 and an in-person hearing on June 26.
Several comments were made regarding permitted activity and health concerns with many questioning why Memphis was chosen as the home to the plant, and saying the community had been “overburdened by toxic pollution by private industry and public utilities.
“Memphis is becoming [a] poster-child for how to profit from the health decline of its Black population,” one comment read. “Stop using our Black and brown communities as dump sites.”
In response to these claims the division said they heard the concerns around environmental pollution, but since the water treatment plant had not been built, it could not be the cause of “area-wide health issues.”
They also said the permit was not related to “locating a data center” in the city for xAI’s use of gas turbines. The division noted that xAI’s operations are at the discretion of the City of Memphis and Shelby County Government.
“The CTC Property LLC is a separate legal entity from the xAI data center,” the document said.
Many also spoke up in the name of environmental justice on behalf of those living in the 38109 zip code. Commenters urged TDEC not to approve the project and to intervene in any future “industrial permitting decisions.”
TDEC said the water treatment plant would not be a source of water or air pollution.
While several concerns were noted in the notice of determination, the department did receive comments of support for the treatment plant.
“Our community is very interested in preserving our drinking water and this reuse approach helps that,” a comment read.
TDEC said state law allows for a petition for permit appeal to be filed by anyone who participated in the public comment period or gave public testimony at a hearing.