(The following colmn by Dr. Nancy Brannon appeared on The Memphis News website on March 8, 2010. Brannon is an environmental sociologist..)
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — News came recently that Norfolk Southern Corp. will receive $105 million in federal stimulus money. It was reported that $52.5 million of the taxpayer funds will be used to build the company’s new Memphis Regional Intermodal Facility in Fayette County between Rossville and Piperton on the former Twin Hill Ranch.
William Adair bought the 3,000-acre property in 2007 from the Keith Taylor Family, and his plan to bring Norfolk Southern’s intermodal yard to the Ranch was revealed in 2009.
An important factor in this land use decision that has garnered little attention is the fact that Twin Hill Ranch serves as an important recharge area for the region’s drinking water source.
The Memphis Sand aquifer touches the surface in numerous places on the Ranch and the site for the proposed IMF sits atop the Memphis Sand.
The IMF Environmental Assessment shows drinking water wells in the vicinity that serve people living on Knox Road, Neville Road and U.S. 57.
The town of Rossville obtains its public supply from three other shallow wells. If any drinking water wells are affected, these likely will be the first ones where contamination could appear.
The Norfolk Southern facility will bring 1,668 semi trucks and 278 vehicles per day to the site, according to the assessment.
On the 650-acre site, there will be 76 acres of tracks; the facility itself will occupy 380 acres with 233 acres paved; and there will be paved parking to accommodate about 2,000 semi trucks.
NSR will use “roller compacted concrete for operational paved surfaces within the facility.” In addition to the IMF, thousands of acres of warehousing are proposed for the Chickasaw Trails Industrial Park, which will further transform the rural area’s pasturelands.
A large body of scientific research clearly demonstrates the land uses most harmful to aquifers include paving over the land surface (which impedes rainfall recharge) and locating potential contaminant sources in recharge areas.
West Tennessee and North Mississippi have long enjoyed a plentiful supply of pure drinking water from the regional aquifer system, but until land use decisions prioritize its protection and incorporate additional protection policies, our regional drinking water source will continue to be at risk from future developments.