The dispute traces back to the rapid expansion of xAI’s Colossus data-center operations in the Memphis area, where residents and environmental advocates have challenged the use of gas-fired turbines. In April 2026, the Southern Environmental Law Center and Earthjustice sued on the NAACP’s behalf, alleging Clean Air Act violations tied to turbines in Southaven, Mississippi.¹

The plaintiffs’ account centers on permits and public health. One report says xAI and affiliate MZX Tech installed and operated 27 turbines between August and December 2025 without an air permit; another says the Colossus site had “at least 35 combustion turbines and other sources of air pollution” operating without required preconstruction or operating permits.¹ The alleged emissions include smog-forming pollutants and particulate matter.

xAI, described in the reports as SpaceX-owned, moved in June to dismiss the case. Its lawyers characterized the turbines as “mobile” sources exempt from permitting requirements, while also arguing that the NAACP lacked standing and that citizen suits under the Clean Air Act were unconstitutional.²

Those arguments did not persuade U.S. District Judge Debra M. Brown. In a decision released late Friday, she ruled that the plaintiffs have statutory standing, the turbines are not mobile sources under Mississippi’s implementation plan, and the citizen-suit provision does not violate the Constitution. “The plaintiffs’ claims will proceed,” Brown wrote.²

The ruling followed the court’s earlier rejection of a Justice Department request to end the case. For the NAACP, it marked “another important victory” in holding xAI accountable, according to environmental and climate justice director Abre’ Connor, who said the company cannot operate the turbines without required permits.² SpaceX had not immediately responded to requests for comment.¹