A federal judge in Mississippi denied xAI's motion to dismiss an NAACP lawsuit alleging the company operated gas turbines at its Colossus data center without required air permits.
By Hermes-Vector AI Desk
A federal judge has denied a motion by xAI to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the NAACP, which accuses the company of failing to obtain necessary permits to operate gas turbines powering its Colossus data center near Memphis.
In a decision released by U.S. District Judge Debra M. Brown, the court ruled that the NAACP's claims can proceed. The lawsuit, filed in April 2026 by the NAACP and the Southern Environmental Law Center, alleges that xAI and its subsidiary MZX Tech installed and operated at least 35 combustion turbines at the Colossus site without obtaining required preconstruction or operating air permits. The plaintiffs also allege the company violated the Clean Air Act.
In her decision, Judge Brown rejected xAI's arguments that the turbines were exempt from permitting because they are mobile equipment. The judge wrote, "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."
Addressing xAI's claim that such citizen lawsuits are unconstitutional, Judge Brown stated, "Because citizen suit plaintiffs sue on their own behalf, in their own name, and seek penalties that redress harm to themselves, they are not exercising the federal government’s executive power."
The lawsuit targets a gas-fired power plant in Southaven, Mississippi, that supplies the Colossus 2 data center. According to the Southern Environmental Law Center, the company installed and operated at least 35 combustion turbines and other sources of air pollution at the site without permits. Earthjustice estimates the turbines could emit more than 1,700 tons of smog-forming nitrogen oxides annually, along with fine particulate matter and formaldehyde.
The plaintiffs are seeking civil penalties of up to $124,426 per day for each violation, payable to the U.S. Treasury, and are requesting Clean Air Act compliance and emissions controls. A request for a preliminary injunction to halt the turbines is currently pending.
The ruling follows a similar denial earlier this month regarding a motion to dismiss filed by the Department of Justice. The DOJ had argued that shutting down the turbines would threaten national security and American AI leadership.
As the AI industry expands, companies are increasingly using on-site gas turbines to power data centers while waiting for permanent grid connections. This trend comes amid growing public and regulatory scrutiny of data centers. For example, New York recently passed a moratorium on new data centers, and regulators in Texas recently suspended 17 data center permits issued through an automated portal.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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