Plains All American Pipeline has received a critical permit needed for construction of an oil pipeline that would connect the Valero refinery in southwest Memphis with an existing pipeline in northern Mississippi.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determined that the Houston-based company had met the terms and conditions necessary to qualify for what is known as a Nationwide Permit 12.

Sale of two lots on Weaver Road for Byhalia Connection pipeline delayed

Assuming Plains performs some mitigation work on wetlands impacted by the pipeline’s construction, the Corps of Engineers will have a limited role in monitoring the work, according to Roger Allan, deputy chief of the regulatory division for the federal agency’s Memphis office.

“At this point, our involvement with the project is ensuring compliance with the terms of the permit application,” Allan said.

Jeff Cosola, a public affairs adviser for Plains, said securing a Nationwide Permit 12, which essentially says the pipeline construction will have a minimal impact on the environment, was a key step for the company.

“Following more than 10,000 hours of environmental field study and analysis, the Byhalia Connection pipeline project has obtained the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nationwide Permit 12, a federal permit only available for projects that will have minimal impacts on the environment,” Cosola said. “Obtaining the Nationwide Permit 12 is a key step in the project. We look forward to safely and responsibly building and operating a pipeline that will be a long-term benefit to the community.

“With the USACE decision, we have secured the environmental permits from federal, state and local agencies needed to begin construction on the Byhalia Connection pipeline. The project has not determined when construction is set to begin.”

Pipeline opponents aren’t yet ready to concede the fight, though. With the project’s state and federal environmental requirements apparently satisfied, opponents are trying to convince local government agencies to stop construction from moving forward.

Pipeline’s route faces increased challenges

Allan said the Corps of Engineers focused its review on the project’s potential impact to surface waters such as lakes, rivers and streams, during construction.

George Nolan, a senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center, said that type of review doesn’t address concerns that the pipeline could rupture after construction, spilling oil into the Memphis Sands underground aquifer, the drinking water source for the region.

“The Corps decided that looking at water in the Memphis Sands aquifer is not part of its job,” Nolan said. “We disagree with that decision. … We are disappointed that the Corps has chosen to view its role in a context that’s far too narrow, as far as we’re concerned.”

Nolan said his group, which has joined forces with some residents along the proposed pipeline path, is weighing its legal options to block the project.

On Thursday, Feb. 11, there will be a status conference in Shelby County Circuit Court for nine cases in which property owners have refused to give Plains access to their land. The company is trying to use eminent domain for easements for those disputed properties.

Crude oil pipeline opponents seek broader review

Eminent domain is frequently used by government entities to acquire land needed for public infrastructure such as roads, parks or schools.

Nolan said state law allows natural gas companies to use eminent domain to gain control of private property they need for pipeline construction. However, Nolan drew a legal distinction between natural gas companies and oil companies.

Natural gas is a product sold locally to benefit residents, he said, while crude oil is shipped to other places where it is refined and sold.

Nolan contends that there isn’t a clearly defined public good for people living along the proposed pipeline’s path.

“This pipeline isn’t going to benefit Memphians at all,” Nolan said. “It’s going to benefit private, out-of-state interests.”

There may be other actions local governments could take to stop the pipeline as well. The Memphis City Council is scheduled to consider a resolution next Tuesday, Feb. 16, formally voicing its opposition to the project.

However, Nolan thinks the council may have other options, including passing ordinances that would impact the project more directly than the proposed resolution.

South Memphis residents voice opposition to Byhalia Connection

For example, he said there’s a state law that prohibits pipelines from crossing city streets unless those cities approve ordinances allowing that to happen. Nolan said he’s not aware of a Memphis city ordinance that addresses that issue.

“That is an issue we are currently researching,” Nolan said.

Also, Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division’s approval might be required to build the pipeline within its wellhead protection zone, an area in South Memphis from which the city’s drinking water is extracted.

Nolan said the council might be able to pass an ordinance restricting construction within the wellhead protection zone.

The Shelby County Commission also owns two parcels of land Plains needs along the proposed route. On Monday, Feb. 8, the commission voted to delay the sale of those parcels to Plains.

Justin J. Pearson, co-founder of Memphis Community Against the Pipeline, a grassroots group organized to oppose the project, said he’s “disappointed” in the Corps of Engineers’ decision, but remains confident local government action can and will prevent the pipeline from being built.

“We’re encouraged that this is a local government decision and it will be solved locally,” Pearson said. “Memphis has the power to protect its water and its neighborhoods.”