Lauge Risom Koch 
The NAACP has sued Elon Musk’s xAI, alleging its Mississippi data center violates the Clean Air Act by operating gas turbines that emit pollutants linked to respiratory illnesses, heart disease and cancer.
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, is facing a federal lawsuit alleging that emissions from one of its Mississippi data centers are exposing nearby communities to harmful pollutants.
According to The Irish Star, the NAACP claims the facility is operating dozens of gas turbines without the required permits, in violation of the U.S. Clean Air Act.
Emissions dispute
The lawsuit, filed in April, alleges that methane-gas turbines powering xAI’s data center in Southaven emit toxic pollutants into nearby residential neighborhoods. The facility is used primarily to support Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok.
According to The Irish Star, the NAACP claims xAI operated 57 gas turbines that release more than 5,000 tons of nitrogen oxides each year, along with fine particulate matter and chemicals such as formaldehyde. The organization argues the pollutants are associated with increased risks of asthma, heart disease, respiratory illnesses and cancer.
“Laws like the Clean Air Act are a bedrock insurance policy for communities to hold polluters accountable for decisions that cause them harm,” said Abre’ Conner, the NAACP’s director of environmental and climate justice. “This should not be up for debate.”
Justice Department steps in
The report says the Trump administration became involved in the case in June after the U.S. Department of Justice asked a federal court to dismiss the lawsuit.
In court filings, the Justice Department argued that xAI’s artificial intelligence work is important to the U.S. economy and national security, citing the military use of Grok during the Iran conflict. The department also maintained that citizen lawsuits under the Clean Air Act could be dismissed in this instance.
“The Department of Justice will not sit idly by while private organizations use environmental laws to undermine our national security,” said Adam Gustafson, deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.
Legal challenge
According to The Irish Star, the NAACP has also brought a separate lawsuit against another xAI data center in Memphis, located near historically Black neighborhoods. Both cases are among a number of legal disputes across the United States concerning the environmental impact of large data centers.
Laura Thoms, director of enforcement at Earthjustice, which represents the NAACP alongside the Southern Environmental Law Center, rejected the federal government’s argument.
“There is no moral or legal precedent for this,” Thoms said.
“This isn’t about national security; it’s a desperate attempt to protect wealthy tech companies from obeying the laws meant to protect people from pollution.”
Sources: The Irish Star
