Federal judge allows U.S. to join Clean Air Act lawsuit against xAI

A federal judge has rejected a bid by the U.S. government to dismiss a Clean Air Act lawsuit involving xAI Corp.’s Colossus 2 data center. U.S. District Judge Debra M. Brown ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator does not have the authority to unilaterally dismiss a citizen suit upon intervening in the case.

The lawsuit was filed by the NAACP and the Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP against xAI Corp. and MZX Tech LLC. The plaintiffs allege that the companies are operating a gas plant in Southaven, Mississippi, to power the Memphis-based data center without the required air permits. They claim the facility's gas-fired turbines could cause significant pollution in nearby predominantly Black communities.

The plaintiffs are seeking an injunction to require the use of the best available pollution control technology and are requesting civil penalties of up to $124,426 per day for each violation. While the government has been granted permission to intervene in the case, the court's order does not yet decide whether the companies actually violated environmental laws.