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Judge lets NAACP Clean Air Act lawsuit over xAI's Memphis turbines proceed
US District Judge Debra M. Brown denied xAI's motion to dismiss an NAACP lawsuit accusing the company of running gas turbines at its Colossus data center near Memphis without required permits. The suit, brought through the Southern Environmental Law Center, alleges at least 35 combustion turbines were operated without air permits.
Key points
- Judge Debra M. Brown denied xAI's motion to dismiss the NAACP Clean Air Act suit.
- The suit alleges at least 35 turbines ran at Colossus without air permits.
- The judge rejected xAI's claim that the turbines are exempt mobile sources.
What happened: A federal judge has allowed an NAACP lawsuit against xAI, the SpaceX-owned AI company, to move forward, TechCrunch and Engadget reported. US District Judge Debra M. Brown denied xAI's motion to dismiss the case, which accuses the company of violating the Clean Air Act at its Colossus data center outside Memphis, Tennessee.
The details: The Southern Environmental Law Center, suing on behalf of the NAACP, said xAI had installed and operated at least 35 combustion turbines and other sources of air pollution at the site without obtaining the necessary preconstruction or operating air permits. xAI argued the turbines were exempt from permitting because they are mobile, and that the plaintiffs lacked standing. Judge Brown found the plaintiffs have standing under the Clean Air Act and that the turbines are not mobile sources. She also rejected the argument that the law's citizen suit provision is unconstitutional.
Who it affects: Abre' Connor, the NAACP's director of environmental and climate justice, called the ruling "another important victory in our effort to hold xAI accountable." A similar motion to dismiss from the Department of Justice was denied earlier in October. A response from xAI or SpaceX was not reported.
What to watch: Engadget reported that xAI has continued adding gas turbines at another data center site in Southaven, Mississippi. TechCrunch noted that New York has passed a moratorium on new data centers and that other state and local governments are considering similar measures.
Our take
Permitting and pollution fights around AI data centers are becoming a real legal risk for the companies that supply the compute behind AI tools.