Memphis Coal Ash Town Hall
Watch the virtual public forum to learn about coal ash, particularly as it relates to Memphis with the Allen plant clean up project and learn what you can do. Speakers included:
- Marquita Bradshaw – Sowing Justice
- Sarah Houston – Protect Our Aquifer
- Dennis Lynch – Sierra Club
- Maggie Shober – Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
- Jeff Warren – Memphis City Councilman
- Moderator: Pearl Eva Walker, Memphis Has the Power
BACKGROUND
Last year with little public input or oversight the Tennessee Valley Authority received state approval to move over 3 million cubic yards of coal ash to a landfill in southeast Memphis from the former Allen Steam Plant. Since late last year, trucks carting toxic coal ash waste from the old coal plant have been rolling through southwest Memphis neighborhoods where more than 150,000 people live.
Elected officials in Memphis were caught off guard when they found out the coal ash-carrying trucks were driving through predominantly Black neighborhoods. The public was, too, since TVA did not make the effort to inform either elected officials or the public at large. TVA chose the South Shelby landfill with little public review and their decision prioritized corporate interests over environmental justice concerns.
That’s why we at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and our Memphis Has the Power campaign hosted a virtual panel discussion on coal ash in Memphis on Monday, April 25 at 7 PM CT with our partners Protect Our Aquifer, Sowing Justice, and the Sierra Club-Chickasaw Group. During the discussion, our panelists discussed why this issue is important, how it’s impacting the Memphis community, and how to get involved.
Learn more and get involved at MemphisHasThePower.org.