A federal judge denied a motion by xAI, a company owned by SpaceX, seeking to dismiss an NAACP lawsuit concerning pollution from its Colossus data center outside Memphis. The Southern Environmental Law Center, suing on behalf of the NAACP, alleged that xAI installed and operated at least 35 combustion turbines and other sources of air pollution at the Colossus site without obtaining necessary preconstruction or operating air permits, accusing the company of violating the Clean Air Act. xAI argued that the turbines were exempt from permitting requirements because they are mobile sources and that the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue.
Judge Debra M. Brown wrote in her decision that "Because the plaintiffs have statutory standing under the Clean Air Act, because the combustion turbines are not ‘mobile sources’ under Mississippi’s [State Implementation Plan], and because the citizen suit provision does not violate Article II of the Constitution or the private nondelegation doctrine, the plaintiffs’ claims will proceed." The judge also stated that citizen suit plaintiffs are not exercising the federal government’s executive power because they sue on their own behalf to redress harm to themselves. The NAACP’s director of environmental and climate justice, Abre’ Connor, described the ruling as "another important victory in our effort to hold xAI accountable."
The lawsuit targets xAI and its subsidiary, MZX Tech, for installing 27 gas turbines in Southaven last year without required permits, with the applicants arguing the equipment pollutes through nitrogen oxide emissions and fine particulate matter. The SELC noted that the plant could emit over 5,00 tons of nitrogen oxides, 400 tons of fine particulate matter, and 47 tons of formaldehyde annually. The ruling rejects xAI’s attempt to classify the turbines as mobile equipment, holding the company did not qualify for exemptions under applicable regulations.
The NAACP lawsuit is moving forward amid increased public scrutiny of data centers, including a recent moratorium passed by New York.
