A federal judge has refused xAI's request to throw out an NAACP lawsuit alleging the company ran gas turbines at its Colossus data center near Memphis without the required air permits.

The Southern Environmental Law Center, representing the NAACP, claims xAI installed and operated at least 35 combustion turbines and other pollution sources at the site without obtaining preconstruction or operating permits, and accuses the company of violating the Clean Air Act.

xAI argued the turbines are exempt because they are mobile and that the plaintiffs lacked standing. Judge Debra M. Brown disagreed on both points, writing that the plaintiffs have statutory standing under the Clean Air Act, that the turbines are not "mobile sources" under Mississippi's State Implementation Plan, and that citizen suits do not run afoul of Article II or the private nondelegation doctrine. She added that citizen-suit plaintiffs sue in their own name and seek penalties redressing harm to themselves, so they are not wielding federal executive power.

The NAACP's Abre' Connor called the ruling "another important victory in our effort to hold xAI accountable," noting that a similar dismissal motion from the Department of Justice was denied earlier this month. "xAI cannot operate gas turbines without the required permits," she said.

The case proceeds as public sentiment turns against data centers; New York recently passed a moratorium on new ones, and other governments are weighing similar steps.

Source: TechCrunch