The controversial Byhalia Pipeline Connection project has been abandoned for reasons related to the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said in a formal announcement Friday.
A joint venture with two companies — Valero and Plains All American Pipeline — began surveying here last year for a project to build a 49-mile pipeline from Memphis to Marshall County, Mississippi, for a new pipeline that would connect to other crude-oil pipelines in the area.
The project raised the ire of Memphis activists who argued it would run through primarily Black neighborhoods, exposing residents there to environmental risks. The project was also the target of moves by members of the Memphis City Council and the Shelby County Commission to pause or stop its progress.
The company announced in a Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) document that it “is no longer pursuing the Byhalia Connection construction project primarily due to lower U.S. oil production resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“We value the relationships we’ve built through the development of this project, and appreciate those that supported the project and would have shared in its ongoing benefits including our customers, communities, energy consumers, landowners, area contractors, and suppliers,” a company spokeswoman said in a statement.
