Health dept. lists Shelby Co.’s top air polluters in pitch to raise fines for emission violations
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SpaceXAI ranked 28th despite ongoing scrutiny from environmental activists
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – Officials with the Shelby County Health Department presented a list of the county’s top air polluters to leaders Wednesday.
They also specifically noted where Elon Musk’s tech company, SpaceXAI, ranked during the morning discussion on hospitals and health at the Shelby County Commission.
The top five air polluters in Shelby County, according to the health department’s deputy director, Kasia Smith-Alexander, are:
- Nucor Steel
- Valero
- Mitsubishi Chemical of America
- Draslovka Mining Solutions
- Tennessee Valley Authority’s Allen Combined Cycle plant
“I know some of you are sitting here and wondering: Where does xAI fit into all of this?” Smith-Alexander said.
Smith-Alexander told county commissioners that SpaceXAI—previously just xAI—ranks 28th on their list of top air polluters in Shelby County.
This presentation comes as environmental groups fight for stronger regulation of SpaceXAI’s expanding footprint in the Memphis metro, arguing that dangerous pollutants from the company’s facilities are contaminating the air in underserved communities.
Leaders noted that the health department’s rankings presented Wednesday do not include data for noise pollution, a problem described by those who live near SpaceXAI’s data centers.
The Shelby County Health Department’s director, Dr. Bruce Randolph, says that to better address industrial emissions, it would require changes to the law.
“The reason we got these pollution-producing industries in Boxtown versus Germantown is because of codes,” he said. “And if you really want to do something about it, let’s examine the codes. Because the reality is, we, as regulators, we have to operate in what the law says. And if the law allows certain industries to exist in certain communities and they are abiding by the standards, then we’re limited as a health department regulatory agency to do anything about it.”
The health department also asked commissioners Wednesday to raise fines for commercial air emission violations, because they say there have been fewer violations as of late.
Though this is good news, health leaders say these fees fund the department’s critical air pollution control program.
The health department is currently facing a $90,000 shortfall because of the drop in fines issued.
An ordinance to amend the county’s air pollution control fee passed its first reading Wednesday.
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