Judge allows NAACP Clean Air Act suit against xAI to proceed

A federal judge, Debra M. Brown, has denied xAI's request to dismiss a Clean Air Act lawsuit brought by the NAACP over gas turbines at its Colossus data center outside Memphis.

Brown said in her decision that the plaintiffs have statutory standing and that the turbines are not mobile sources under Mississippi's State Implementation Plan. The case proceeds.

The NAACP, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, brought the suit. The plaintiffs allege that xAI installed and operated at least 35 combustion turbines and other sources of air pollution at the site, without the required preconstruction or operating air permits.

xAI argued that the turbines are mobile and therefore exempt from permitting. It also argued that the plaintiffs lack standing and that citizen suits such as this one are unconstitutional. Brown ruled that the citizen-suit provision does not violate Article II of the Constitution or the private nondelegation doctrine. She reasoned that citizen-suit plaintiffs sue in their own name and seek penalties for harm to themselves.

Abre' Connor, director of environmental and climate justice at the NAACP, said: "another important victory in our effort to hold xAI accountable."

TechCrunch reported the ruling on 31 October. It also reported that a similar motion to dismiss from the Department of Justice (DOJ) was denied earlier in October.

TechCrunch also reported that opposition to data centres is growing. New York has passed a moratorium on new data centres, and Amazon and Microsoft have pledged to stop using non-disclosure agreements with government agencies.

The case now moves into litigation, and the article gives no timeline. TechCrunch reached out to SpaceX for comment, and no response is reported.