Trump DOJ Seeks Dismissal of NAACP Clean Air Act Suit Against Musk’s xAI Near Memphis

The Trump administration’s Department of Justice has intervened to seek dismissal of a Clean Air Act lawsuit brought by the NAACP against Elon Musk’s xAI over its use of polluting gas turbines near Memphis, Tennessee.

“DOJ seeks to dismiss air pollution lawsuit against xAI data center The Trump administration is helping one of Elon Musk’s companies fight a civil rights lawsuit that alleges it is illegally running dozens of natural gas turbines to power a $20 billion data center in Mississippi WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration is helping one of Elon Musk's companies fight a civil rights lawsuit that alleges it is illegally running dozens of natural gas turbines to power a $20 billion data center in Mississippi”

ABC News

In a court motion filed in a US District Court on Monday, DOJ requested dismissal of the NAACP’s suit accusing xAI of illegally operating dozens of natural gas turbines to power the Colossus 2 data centre in Memphis, Tennessee.

ABC News

DOJ argued in the motion that efforts to block the related power project threaten national security, and it asked the court to dismiss the case on the grounds that the Constitution vests enforcement authority in the executive branch.

Adam Gustafson, the top prosecutor at DOJ’s environment and natural resources division, said the government would “not sit idly by while private organisations use environmental laws to undermine our national security.”

The dispute centers on turbines located in nearby Southaven, Mississippi, which the NAACP alleges were built without the necessary permits and pollution controls required by the Clean Air Act.

Environmental groups and legal experts condemned DOJ’s intervention as an attempt to limit citizen enforcement under the Clean Air Act, with Earthjustice calling it a “massive power grab.”

Laura Thoms, director of enforcement for Earthjustice, said DOJ was trying to “shield Elon Musk’s data center company, xAI, from being held accountable for its illegal pollution.”

Al Jazeera

Ann Carlson, a professor of environmental law at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, described DOJ’s argument as a “brazen attempt” to limit enforcement of the Clean Air Act.

CNN reported that the Justice Department’s move is “highly unusual,” and it said DOJ is not disputing the allegations but instead arguing that citizen suits are unconstitutional.

The NAACP lawsuit, filed in April, seeks injunctions and civil penalties under the Clean Air Act, and it alleges xAI’s turbines expose residents to harmful pollutants linked to “increases in asthma, respiratory diseases, heart problems, and certain cancers.”

DOJ’s filings tie the case to national security and defense use of xAI’s Grok model, arguing that the data center and Grok are “critical” and that the turbines are necessary to power the facility.

In testimony supporting Monday’s motion, Cameron Stanley, the Pentagon’s top official for AI, said Grok had been used to launch more than 2,000 munitions at 2,000 targets within the first 96 hours of the US-Israel war on Iran.

The Justice Department also argued that the Clean Air Act’s citizen-suit provisions would create “grave constitutional problems” if citizens could proceed when the executive branch seeks dismissal.

Abre’ Conner, NAACP director of environmental and climate justice, said “Laws like the Clean Air Act are a bedrock insurance policy for communities to hold polluters accountable for decisions that cause them harm,” and she said the NAACP would continue to stand up for democracy and against federal bullying and authoritarianism.

The outcome could determine whether communities can use Clean Air Act citizen suits to compel enforcement against polluters, as DOJ’s approach would allow the executive branch to dismiss the entire action and prevent citizens from taking actions themselves.