US court denies xAI motion to dismiss NAACP lawsuit over unpermitted gas turbines

On Friday, the US District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi denied a motion by xAI to dismiss a Clean Air Act lawsuit filed against the company by the NAACP. The decision comes shortly after the court's rejection of a similar motion to dismiss from the US Department of Justice.

The NAACP, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center and Earthjustice, brought the case over an unpermitted power plant in Southaven, Mississippi, that powers xAI's Colossus data centre outside Memphis. The Southern Environmental Law Center stated that the artificial intelligence company installed and operated at least 35 combustion turbines and other air pollution sources without obtaining required preconstruction or operating air permits. Earthjustice noted that the gas turbines can emit over 5,000 tons of nitrogen oxides, 400 tons of fine particulate matter, and 47 tons of formaldehyde each year.

xAI sought to dismiss the case by arguing that the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue, that citizen suits are unconstitutional, and that the turbines are exempt from permitting rules because they are mobile. Judge Debra M. Brown rejected those claims, ruling that the combustion turbines are not mobile sources under federal regulations or Mississippi's State Implementation Plan and are therefore subject to Clean Air Act permitting requirements. Judge Brown also wrote that citizen suit plaintiffs do not exercise the federal government's executive power because they sue on their own behalf to redress harm to themselves.

Abre' Conner, the NAACP's Director of Environmental and Climate Justice, said the courts had repeatedly rejected attempts by xAI and the Department of Justice to dismiss the case, adding that xAI cannot operate gas turbines without the required permits. Kym Meyer, Litigation Director for the Southern Environmental Law Center, and Laura Thoms, Director of Enforcement for Earthjustice, also stated that the organisations would continue pursuing the case on behalf of affected communities in South Memphis and North Mississippi.

Following the denial of xAI's motion to dismiss, the plaintiffs' Clean Air Act claims will proceed in court, where the judge has yet to rule on the NAACP's motion for a preliminary injunction.

Sources: Earthjustice, TechCrunch

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