Judge allows NAACP lawsuit over xAI data center pollution to move forward

Key points

• A federal judge denied xAI's motion to dismiss an NAACP lawsuit over air permits at its Colossus data center.
• The suit claims xAI ran at least 35 combustion turbines without required preconstruction or operating air permits.
• Judge Debra M. Brown ruled the turbines are not mobile sources and the plaintiffs have standing to sue.

A federal judge has denied xAI's request to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the NAACP over air pollution at the company's Colossus data center outside Memphis. The suit, brought by the Southern Environmental Law Center on the NAACP's behalf, accuses the SpaceX-owned AI company of operating gas turbines without the permits required to power the site.

The plaintiffs allege xAI installed and ran at least 35 combustion turbines and other pollution sources at Colossus without ever obtaining the necessary preconstruction or operating air permits, and accuse the company of violating the Clean Air Act.

Judge rejects xAI arguments

xAI argued the lawsuit should be dismissed because the turbines are mobile and therefore exempt from permitting rules, and that the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue. Judge Debra M. Brown rejected both claims, writing that the plaintiffs have statutory standing under the Clean Air Act and that the combustion turbines are not mobile sources under Mississippi's State Implementation Plan.

The judge also addressed xAI's argument that citizen lawsuits of this kind are unconstitutional, writing that such plaintiffs sue on their own behalf and in their own name, so they are not exercising the federal government's executive power. A similar motion to dismiss from the Department of Justice was denied earlier this month.

The courts have repeatedly rejected attempts by xAI and the DOJ to dismiss the NAACP's Clean Air Act case, affirming our right to pursue justice for communities impacted by pollution.

— Abre' Connor

NAACP response and wider context

Abre' Connor, the NAACP's director of environmental and climate justice, called the ruling "another important victory in our effort to hold xAI accountable." She said the courts have repeatedly rejected attempts by xAI and the DOJ to dismiss the case.

The ruling comes as public opinion appears to have turned sharply against data centers. New York recently passed a moratorium on new data centers, and other state and local governments are considering similar measures.