The proposed Byhalia Pipeline would transport crude oil nearly 45 miles from Memphis to Marshall County, Mississippi. It would cross the active New Madrid Fault Line, posing risks of pipe failures that could contaminate the Memphis Sand Aquifer, which provides drinking water to the Memphis area. Past pipeline spills have caused environmental damage, health problems for residents, and cost issues during cleanup. The pipeline is opposed by environmental and community groups concerned with risks to water and climate change.

1. THE BYHALIA
PIPELINE
The Consequences of Oil in our Soil
Slideshow presented by Memphis Freethought Alliance (MFA)

2. PROPOSAL:
• Will run nearly 45 miles from Memphis to Marshall County, Mississippi
• Will connect two existing crude oil pipelines in the area (Diamond and Capline Pipeline)
• Byhalia Pipeline LLC owned by: Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. & Valero

3. FAULT LINES
The Pipeline would run across the New Madrid Fault Line and fault rupture
has been identified as the dominant cause of catastrophic pipe failures.

4. WATER IS LIFE
The Pipeline will compromise the Memphis Sand Aquifer.
This geological wonder is world-famous and gives
Memphians access to a clean and natural water source
for drinking water. To give an idea of how special this
source is, the water directly under the Cooper-Young area
is 2,000 years old! A break in the pipe would harm this
water system, meaning what took nature hundreds of
years to create would be breached in minutes.

5. “EVENTUALLY
THEY ALL
BUST, LEAK
OR BREAK,
MAKING THEM
TICKING TIME
BOMBS.”

6. EVENTUALLY
THEY ALL BUST,
BREAK OR
LEAK:
One pound of crude oil will
contaminate 25 million gallons
of water.
Spilling a pint of oil in a wetland
or lake could cover the surface
area of an acre of water.

7. LOVE THY
NEIGHBOR
The 2013 Mayflower oil spill occurred
on March 29, 2013, when the
Pegasus Pipeline, owned by
ExxonMobil, ruptured in Mayflower,
Arkansas, about 25 miles northwest
of Little Rock releasing about 3,190
barrels of oil, killing wildlife, polluting
the air, and water. The initial rupture
caused major explosions, and people
had to be evacuated from their
homes, their streets paved in crude
oil.

8. 6 YEARS
AFTER THE
SPILL…
…Mayflower residents
describe illnesses, property
damage and a smell that still
haunts them. Some say they
felt pressured to sign
settlements.

9. CLIMATE
CHANGE IS
HERE
This is NOT the time to invest
in oil/gas for energy. Now is the
time to invest in CLEAN
ENERGY. Climate change has
not waited on us. It is no longer
a looming threat tucked,
hidden in scientific journals,
but here, in our backyards.

10. IT’S GETTING
HOT IN HERE
The planet's average surface temperature has risen about
2.12 degrees Fahrenheit (1.18 degrees Celsius) since the
late 19th century, a change driven largely by increased
carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere and other
human activities. Most of the warming occurred in the past
40 years, with the seven most recent years being the
warmest.

11. THE WEB OF
LIFE…
Climate change is more than
warming temperatures but
rising sea levels, acidification
of the oceans, melting ice-
sheets, extreme weather
patterns, crop failures, mass
immigration, etc. For more
information:
https://climate.nasa.gov/evide
nce

12. …IS
UNRAVELING.
Dozens of species are going extinct every day, with
as many as 30 to 50 percent of all species going
extinct by year 2050.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/01/world/sixth-mass-
extinction-accelerating-intl/index.html

13. THEY SAY
COMMUNITY, BUT
THEY REALLY
MEAN
CORPORATE
PROFITS:
Valero Energy Corp. is worth
$70.17 billion in revenue and
has spent 19 years on
the Fortune 500 list.

14. AM I MY SISTER’S
KEEPER?
A land agent working for the pipeline company described
the path of the pipeline from Boxtown, TN to Marshall
County, MISS (both poor communities) as the ‘path of least
resistance.’ However, residents in both communities have
mounted a fight against the pipeline, especially in Boxtown
where residents have already been subjected to harmful
industry in the area. In Marshall County, residents already
suffered an oil leak from the same company building the
pipeline in 2020.

15. HARD HATS
The pipeline would bring
ONLY 500 jobs to the area,
many temporary. Investing in
green energy also creates
jobs, without the
environmental cost.

16. HOW TO OPPOSE THE PIPELINE
• Contact your representatives here: https://www.shelbycountytn.gov/1209/Meet-Your-Shelby-County-
Commissioners?fbclid=IwAR2lslVZ5jzXw45yqyJabAL0AYFg_CfQ31pVQyTG-
NHU9Rsm4BcX9m3rl1c
• Join Memphis Community Against the Pipeline here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/384731222812428
• Join Memphis Freethought Alliance, an organization dedicated to science and reason:
https://memphisfreethought.com/
• Join Protect Our Aquifer, and other environmentally conscious groups:
https://www.protectouraquifer.org/
• Join the Memphis Chapter of the Climate Reality Project here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/307476949933027/permalink/537270740286979

17. BEYOND THE
PIPELINE
This is ONE of hundreds of
pipelines, all apart of an
infrastructure dedicated to
oil/gas. The fight for clean water,
soil, and air is a fight against
DIRTY energy, and a forward
path towards GREEN energy.

18. WE NEED
CLEAN AIR,
CLEAN SOIL,
AND CLEAN
WATER.