DOJ intervenes in xAI lawsuit, claims Grok AI essential for military operations amid pollution dispute

Trump admin helps xAI fight pollution lawsuit, says military needs Grok for war

The Trump administration is trying to help Elon Musk's xAI Corp. beat a Clean Air Act lawsuit filed by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The US said the NAACP lawsuit threatens an xAI data center that powers Grok systems needed by the military. The NAACP sued xAI and subsidiary MZX Tech in April, alleging that they violated the Clean Air Act by operating 27 gas turbines without an air permit in Southaven, Mississippi. The number of unpermitted turbines rose to 57 by mid-May and there were plans to install two more, the NAACP said in a June 12 filing. "Defendants' Colossus Gas Plant powers xAI's nearby Colossus 2 data center, which in turn powers the chatbot 'Grok,'" the lawsuit said. The gas turbines have fueled both health concerns and noise complaints. US Department of Justice lawyers urged a federal judge to dismiss the case in a filing yesterday. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality determined that the turbines don't require permits, the US filing said. The lawsuit "threaten[s] artificial-intelligence innovation, plus the energy needed to power it," the US filing said. "The NAACP's attempt to cut off the power that supports Grok also threatens national security because... Grok provides critical support for the Department of War's military operations." The US court filing said xAI's Grok Gov Model aided targeted strikes in Iran during Operation Epic Fury. Grok was used with Maven Smart System to help US forces "deploy over 2,000 munitions to 2,000 distinct targets within 96 hours during Operation Epic Fury, a testament to the greatly increased operational efficiency made possible by the Grok Gov Model," according to a declaration by Cameron Stanley, chief digital and artificial intelligence officer for the Department of War. The Grok Gov Model has unique features not found in any other AI model, he wrote. US helping xAI break the law, group says The US is arguing "that xAI should be allowed to break the law solely because the Trump administration says so," said the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), which represents the NAACP in the case. "In the filing, the Department of Justice never disputes that xAI is pumping out unlawful and harmful pollution into Memphis and North Mississippi," the SELC said today. "Instead, the Department argues that it doesn't matter whether xAI is breaking the law and threatening community members' health if the Trump administration blesses the lawlessness. While the Department points to vague national security concerns as its reason to let xAI continue to illegally pollute unabated, all companies, even ones that contract with the federal government, are required to follow the law." A letter from Gov. Tate Reeves said that in March 2026, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality approved xAI permits to construct several permanent gas turbines. It also gave written authorization for xAI to use trailer-mounted gas turbines to temporarily power the facility until the permanent ones are built. The department "determined that such temporary gas turbines are 'mobile sources' not subject to the Clean Air Act's permitting requirements," the letter said. The case is in US District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi. The US told the court that "the Clean Air Act does not authorize citizen-enforcement actions that seek relief the governmental enforcers choose to forgo... Nothing in the statute suggests that Congress, when enacting the citizen-suit provision, deputized citizens to 'commandeer the federal enforcement machinery,' especially where the United States has determined that a citizen's suit would not serve the public interest." Citizen suit dispute The NAACP lawsuit relies on a Clean Air Act provision authorizing citizen lawsuits "against any person who proposes to construct or constructs any new or modified major emitting facility without a permit." The NAACP said in its June 12 filing that under the Clean Air Act, "Citizen suits may still proceed after state agencies determine permits are not required, or while agencies pursue parallel investigations. Just as state applicability determinations do not bar federal enforcement under the Clean Air Act, they do not shield operators from citizen enforcement. If they did, it would frustrate the very purpose of the citizen suit provision." The SELC said today that the Trump administration's argument against citizen suits could have far-reaching implications. Citizen lawsuits "serve as an essential backstop -- and often a last resort -- for communities when government regulators fail to hold polluters accountable," the SELC said. "The provision was passed by Congress with bipartisan support, and courts have repeatedly upheld the constitutionality of citizen suits. Now, the Department of Justice is indicating that it has a right to come in and cancel such community-led suits at any time. This threatens to open the door to significant corruption as polluters pay, or give favors, to avoid complying with the law." The gas turbines threaten the health of residents in an area with a large Black population, the NAACP said. "Without controls, the Colossus Gas Plant's turbines can emit ten times the amount of nitrogen oxides pollution they should under the Act, contributing to increasing risks of heart disease, lung disease, and premature death in the surrounding neighborhoods where Black and other frontline communities live, including members of Plaintiffs NAACP and NAACP MS," the NAACP said. The NAACP asked the court for a permanent injunction prohibiting continued operation of the gas turbines, civil penalties of up to $124,426 per day, and reimbursement of the plaintiff's costs and attorneys' fees. The NAACP's June 12 filing said that all the turbines "required Clean Air Act permits prior to construction, best available control technology to limit pollution during operations, and emissions monitoring for pollution tracking and transparency. Defendants have not obtained a single air permit for these turbines or otherwise complied with the Clean Air Act requirements at any point from installation to now." The US filing pointed to support from Mississippi state regulators. "The State of Mississippi has similarly determined that continued operation of xAI's data centers and turbines serves the State's interests," the US wrote. "If the NAACP successfully shuts down xAI's turbines through this civil enforcement action, the State explained, that 'would create an immediate and substantial disruption to the State's economy' and 'disrupt the Clean Air Act's delicate balance of cooperative Federalism.'"

DOJ claims xAI's unpermitted gas turbines are a matter of 'national, economic, and energy security'

The Department of Justice on Monday sided with xAI in a lawsuit that sought to stop the company's use of dozens of unpermitted natural gas turbines near its Memphis data centers, according to a Wired. The DoJ said if the NAACP, which filed the lawsuit in April, prevails, the result would undermine "American national, economic, and energy security by seeking to shut off the power supply for artificial-intelligence innovation that supports the Department of War's military operations." The memorandum filed by the Justice Department said that Grok is one of four AI models that support "mission-critical operations," such as its recent strikes in Iran. The NAACP started telegraphing its intent to sue xAI last June, seeking to end the company's practice of using "mobile" gas turbines at its Colossus and Colossus 2 data centers. Those efforts failed, and Elon Musk's AI company has since added more turbines, bringing the total to 57. Because the turbines have remained on trailers, xAI claims that they are exempt from Mississippi air pollution regulations for one year. The Southern Environmental Law Center, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of the NAACP, says that the company's use still violates federal law, which states that trailer-mounted turbines can be considered stationary and are therefore subject to regulation. The NAACP has said that the region, already one of the most polluted in the country, has suffered worse air quality since xAI's data centers went online. Since last year, the number of turbines at the data centers have more than doubled, resulting in a corresponding increase in three major air pollutants: PM2.5, formaldehyde, and oxides of nitrogen (NO). All three have been linked to asthma and cardiovascular disease. Formaldehyde exposure increases the risk of cancer, and PM2.5 has been implicated in a range of ailments, from stroke to Alzheimer's disease. The company, which is now a division of SpaceX, is likely to buy more generators in the coming months or years. In SpaceX's IPO filing, the company said that it will buy another $2.8 billion worth of gas turbines to power its AI data centers over the next three years. Of that, at least $2 billion are earmarked for "mobile gas turbines."

DOJ Lawyers Argue xAI Is 'Vital' for National Security in NAACP Lawsuit

In a bid to dismiss a lawsuit over xAI's polluting gas turbines, the Justice Department claimed the company is integral to military operations -- including the Iran War. The Department of Justice intervened in a lawsuit over xAI's gas turbines on Monday. In a filing, the agency sided with Elon Musk's company, saying attempts to stop xAI from running the natural gas turbines "threatens American national, economic, and energy security by seeking to shut off the power supply for artificial-intelligence innovation that supports the Department of War's military operations." The DOJ, along with xAI and the state of Mississippi, asked the court to dismiss the suit, filed by the NAACP in April. The NAACP alleges xAI isn't following the Clean Air Act and is endangering public health by running unpermitted natural gas turbines at the site of its second data center in Southaven, Mississippi, dubbed Colossus 2. In May, the NAACP filed a request for a preliminary injunction to stop xAI from running the turbines, alleging that their continued use without a permit "increases risks of asthma attacks and heart disease" in communities with an already heavy pollution burden. xAI and DOJ didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. According to the DOJ memorandum, there are only four artificial intelligence models, including Grok, that "support mission-critical operations across Secret and Top-Secret classified networks.'" A separate declaration filed by Cameron Stanley, the chief digital and artificial intelligence officer at the Department of Defense, details how the military relies on Grok's Gov model to "support vital national security missions." That includes using the model as part of recent strikes against Iran. Forcing xAI to stop running the gas turbines powering Colossus 2, Stanley says, "directly threatens ongoing national security interests." xAI -- which is part of SpaceX -- shot to national notoriety in 2024 when residents of southwest Memphis began raising the alarm that the company had begun running unpermitted gas turbines at its first data center site. The Memphis region has some of the highest asthma rates in the country, and residents worried about additional pollution from the unpermitted turbines. State agencies in both Tennessee and Mississippi have claimed that the company has a year to run the turbines without clean air permits -- a claim that, the NAACP argues, is not consistent with the Environmental Protection Agency's regulations. The original lawsuit filed by the NAACP identified 27 turbines operating without a permit at its site in Southaven. But emails between xAI and state regulators obtained by the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), a partner in the NAACP lawsuit, show that as of mid-May, there were 57 turbines operating without permits at the Colossus 2 site. Many of those turbines, the emails show, were added weeks after the NAACP filed its lawsuit. The growth of Colossus 2's turbines from 27 to 57 means, according to the SELC, that the site has seen a 111 percent increase in nitrogen oxide emissions, a 83 percent increase in PM2.5 emissions, and an 88 percent increase in formaldehyde emissions since April.

U.S. gov't asks court to dismiss NAACP lawsuit against Elon Musk's xAI over use of unpermitted gas turbines -- DOJ says Grok model running at Colossus 2 'supports mission-critical operations'

National security interests could override public health concerns The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a memorandum in response to NAACP's lawsuit against Elon Musk's xAI (now SpaceX) Colossus 2 data center. According to Wired, the federal government, through the DOJ, said that stopping the natural gas turbines needed to run the xAI data center "threatens American national, economic, and energy security by seeking to shut off the power supply for artificial-intelligence innovation that supports the Department of War's military operations." It further said that Grok is one of only four AI models the military and security agencies use to "support mission-critical operations across Secret and Top-Secret classified networks." Due to those purported national security interests, DOJ lawyers have joined xAI and the state of Missisippi in requesting that the lawsuit be dismissed. The NAACP, through the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), sued xAI last year after an investigation discovered that Musk's Colossus supercomputer facility used "illegal" generators to power its AI GPUs. The Memphis supercluster was launched in just 19 days -- a major feat given that most projects of this scale usually take four years, according to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. The site officially powered on in July 2024, but it wasn't May 2025 that it became fully operational after it received 150MW of power from Memphis Light, Gas, and Water (MLGW) and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). But instead of waiting months to get connected to the grid, xAI bridged the gap with mobile generators to get the electricity needed to run the hundreds of thousands of power-hungry GPUs. It turns out that xAI failed to secure the permits needed to run the majority of these units. It's been reported that the company applied for 15 portable turbines, but thermal images show at least 35 units on site. The company is allegedly using a loophole that allows it to run these units for 364 days without needing paperwork, but the Environmental Protect Agency (EPA) has since closed this loophole. Aside from the offending generators in the first Colossus site, which is rented out to Anthropic, 27 natural gas turbines at Colossus 2 were cited as noncompliant in the initial lawsuit filed in April 2026. However, as of May 2026, the SELC says that 57 turbines on the site are operating on site without a permit. According to the nonprofit, this resulted in a 111% increase in nitrogen oxide exhaust, an 83% jump in PM2.5 pollutants, and an 88% uptick in formaldehyde emissions since these generators were added. The lawsuit argues that these emissions endanger public health, and that continued use of the turbines "increases risks of asthma attacks and heart disease" in the surrounding communities. In response to the DOJ's filing, the SELC issued the following statement: "With this filing, the Trump administration is launching an unprecedented attack on the public's ability to defend themselves from illegal pollution. This is a blatant attempt to let well-connected corporations like xAI unlawfully pollute without any consequences, putting communities across the country at risk and threatening to open the door to large-scale pay-to-pollute corruption in the process," SELC Litigation Director Kym Myer said. "The Department of Justice's frivolous arguments fly in the face of decades of well-established legal precedent and we look forward to fighting them in court." The case is National Association for the Advancement of Colored People et al v. X.AI Corp. et al, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Missourt. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.

SpaceX gets assist from DOJ in effort to toss NAACP air pollution lawsuit

With SpaceX's stock rocketing during its first three days of trading, Elon Musk's company is getting an assist from the Department of Justice, which asked a federal court in Mississippi to toss a case against the company brought by the NAACP. The suit was filed in April by the NAACP, which claimed that xAI, Musk's artificial intelligence lab now owned by SpaceX, violated the federal Clean Air Act by using dozens of methane gas-burning turbines to power its AI data centers without proper permits or pollution controls. The turbines emit smog-forming pollutants and particulate matter that can lead to increased health risks and an unpleasant odor. The NAACP more recently asked the court to issue an injunction stopping xAI from using the turbines until a judge can make a decision. SpaceX's Colossus 1 and 2 data centers in and around Memphis, Tennessee, along with the power plants linked to those facilities, have faced protests for more than a year over issues including air pollution, electricity and water consumption and noise around the facilities. In a motion filed by the DOJ on June 15, attorneys for the department accused the NAACP of threatening "American national, economic, and energy security by seeking to shut off the power supply for artificial-intelligence innovation that supports the Department of War's military operations." Before merging with SpaceX in February, xAI had built the Grok AI model and chatbot in an effort to compete with OpenAI, Anthropic and Google. Cameron Stanley, who leads AI for the Defense Department is quoted in the DOJ's filing as saying that Grok's continued availability "is a matter of paramount national security." The DOJ said that during the war in Iran, the military version of xAI's Grok had "enabled U.S. forces to deploy over 2,000 munitions to 2,000 distinct targets within 96 hours, a testament to the greatly increased operational efficiency made possible by the Grok Gov Model."

In boost to Musk, Justice Department seeks to dismiss air pollution lawsuit against xAI data center

WASHINGTON (AP) -- 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. The NAACP and other groups say Musk's xAI subsidiary failed to get a permit for its power plant -- which is located near homes, schools and churches -- creating health risks for families in North Mississippi and nearby Memphis and violating the federal Clean Air Act. The Justice Department, in a motion late Monday, sought to intervene in the case and dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the plant is needed to power an AI data center that is "critical to the economy" and the U.S. military. The state of Mississippi -- not the federal government -- is responsible for any permits for the power plant and "decided no permit was required," the Justice Department said in a statement. "Ultimate responsibility for enforcing federal law belongs to the Executive Branch, not private interest groups," said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, who is No. 3 at the Justice Department. The motion to intervene in the case is intended to protect national security and promote American energy and innovation, he added. The Trump administration has made AI a top national and economic security priority. It has also upended policies meant to address climate change and has worked to undo environmental regulations on business. Trump also has had close ties to Musk, who led his federal government cost-saving initiative, known as the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, early last year. Crowned the world's first trillionaire Friday when SpaceX went public, Musk financed Trump's presidential campaign more than any other donor and is pouring money into midterms. The Justice Department action comes just days after SpaceX, Musk's rocket company and the parent of defendant xAI, pulled off the biggest initial offering of stock ever, partly due to the Trump administration's help supplying it with billions of dollars in federal contracts. SpaceX has a total value of more than $2 trillion, making it bigger than Exxon Mobil, Bank of America and Coca-Cola combined. The NAACP lawsuit, filed in April, accuses xAI of running dozens of portable natural gas turbines without proper controls to limit emissions and without the permitting required by the Clean Air Act., which requires industrial polluters to obtain air permits before construction or operation. The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday referred questions on the case to the Justice Department, saying it is not a party in the dispute. The Justice Department action was not about national security, but instead was a "desperate attempt to protect wealthy tech companies from obeying the laws meant to protect people from pollution," said Laura Thoms, director of enforcement for Earthjustice, an environmental law firm that represents the NAACP and Southern Environmental Law Center. "Trump's Justice Department wants to shield Elon Musk's data center company, xAI, from being held accountable for its illegal pollution -- and it's attempting to grab power from impacted communities, the courts and Congress to do so,'' she said. The data center and its pollution are "turning our communities into sacrifice zones," Thoms added. Abre' Conner, the NAACP's director of environmental and climate justice, said the Clean Air Act was designed to hold polluters accountable for decisions that cause harm to communities. "This should not be up for debate, and the NAACP will continue to stand up for democracy and against federal bullying and authoritarianism," Conner said. The Justice Department, in a statement Tuesday, said the Pentagon is one of many federal agencies that use AI. "Overly burdensome regulation, including private lawsuits that seek to implement their own environmental enforcement, can threaten technological growth, American energy independence and national security,'' the statement said. SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It has previously said that it is in full compliance with the law and takes its environmental responsibilities seriously. ___ Condon reported from New York

Justice Department backs xAI in NAACP lawsuit over data center pollution - Engadget

The agency argues that xAI's operations are integral to US military operations. The Department of Justice, along with the state of Mississippi, are asking the court to dismiss the lawsuit the NAACP filed against xAI in April. If you'll recall, the organization sued xAI for allegedly operating methane gas turbines to power its Colossus 2 data center in South Memphis without the proper permit. It later asked the court for an injunction to stop xAI from running the turbines, explaining that they increase "risks of asthma attacks and heart disease." According to Wired, the Justice Department has submitted a filing to the court, siding with Elon Musk's company and arguing that its operations are integral to US military operations, including the Iran War. In its lawsuit, the NAACP accused xAI of operating 27 gas turbines without permission. Gas turbines are known to emit pollution, hazardous chemicals and fine particulate matter. Those are already concerning due to the data center's proximity to people's homes, but they're even more concerning when you consider that Memphis is one of the asthma capitals of the United States. It ranked second in terms of asthma-related visits to the emergency room back in 2024, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. It's worth noting that while the lawsuit was for 27 gas turbines only, the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) later obtained emails showing that xAI added even more turbines after the lawsuit was filed, bringing the total number to 57. In its filing, the Justice Department reportedly wrote that stopping xAI from running its turbines to power Colossus 2 "threatens American national, economic, and energy security by seeking to shut off the power supply for artificial-intelligence innovation that supports the Department of War's military operations." It added that it only uses four AI models to support mission-critical operations across top-secret classified networks, with Grok being one of them. Cameron Stanley, the chief digital and AI officer at the Defense Department, also submitted a filing in support of xAI, detailing how Grok's Gov model supports "vital national security missions." He also said stopping the turbines from running the data center "directly threatens ongoing national security interests."

D.O.J. Seeks to Halt Pollution Lawsuit Against Elon Musk's Data Center

The department cited national security concerns, saying Elon Musk's company had played a crucial role in the Iran war. It also argued it has the authority to stop environmental lawsuits brought by citizens. In an unusually aggressive move, the Justice Department told a federal court in Mississippi that Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company, xAI, has the right to run dozens of polluting gas-burning turbines in the state despite not having permits for them. The Justice Department late on Monday said that the court should throw out a lawsuit against xAI that was brought by the NAACP claiming that the turbines violate the Clean Air Act. The suit threatens national security by "seeking to shut off the power supply for artificial-intelligence innovation that supports the Department of War's military operations," wrote Stanley Woodward Jr., associate attorney general and the No. 3 official in the department. The memo also argued that the federal government should have unchallenged authority to stop environmental lawsuits brought by private groups or individuals. "It's remarkable for the United States to intervene on behalf of a polluter in a case like this," said Laura Thoms, director of enforcement at Earthjustice, which represents the NAACP along with the Southern Environmental Law Center. "Ordinarily, they would intervene to enforce the law," she said, referring to the Clean Air Act, which requires facilities like power plants to seek permits and install pollution-control technologies. Ms. Thoms, who until last year was an assistant chief for environmental enforcement at the Justice Department, also said that to her knowledge the department hasn't previously argued that it should have the power to reject citizens' lawsuits on its own authority. A representative of xAI didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The NAACP sued xAI in April to challenge the company's use of unpermitted gas turbines for data centers near the Tennessee-Mississippi border. Sign up for the Race/Related Newsletter Join a deep and provocative exploration of race, identity and society with New York Times journalists. Get it sent to your inbox. The lawsuit argues that the company was violating the Clean Air Act and is polluting Black neighborhoods near the facilities. The language of the Clean Air Act, the main law governing air pollution in the United States, says that individuals and groups can file what it calls "citizen suits" against companies or government agencies to compel enforcement of environmental laws. The suits have long been a mainstay for environmental groups. In its memo, the Justice Department argued the federal government has power to quash the NAACP'S "citizen suit" and that individual citizens and groups cannot pursue Clean Air Act enforcement over the federal government's objections. Ms. Thoms said that, under the Clean Air Act, there was no national security exemption for complying with the claims. The D.O.J. memo cited the president's determination that expansion of energy infrastructure was a major priority in order to enhance "global A.I. dominance." The NAACP's lawsuit names xAI and its subsidiary MZX Tech as defendants and takes issue with their use of portable, natural-gas-powered turbines to help power Grok, xAI's artificial intelligence product. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality had determined that the state did not require Clean Air Act permits for the turbines. The NAACP alleges that xAi currently operates 57 gas turbines in Mississippi to power its Colossus 2 data center, located near the border of Tennessee, without pollution controls required by the Clean Air Act. That makes the facility one of the country's biggest single industrial sources of smog-forming nitrogen oxide, the plaintiffs allege, as well as significant source of other harmful air pollutants like particulate matter and formaldehyde, disproportionately affecting vulnerable groups like children, older adults and low-income or minority households. The lawsuit seeks penalties of roughly $124,000 per day per violation, and an injunction ordering the company to stop operating the turbines. xAI has said the turbines are temporary, and therefore exempt from more stringent permitting requirements. xAI is now a part of SpaceX, Mr. Musk's rocket venture, which recently began trading on the stock market, making Mr. Musk a trillionaire. The D.O.J.'s intervention in the case on the side of xAI would seemingly pit the Trump administration against another federal agency, the Environmental Protection Agency, which had clarified earlier this year that even temporary turbines were subject to permitting and pollution controls. The E.P.A. said Tuesday it does not comment on pending litigation. The NAACP's lawsuit comes amid a rising backlash against energy-intensive data centers in recent months, triggering lawsuits as well as 100 proposed moratoriums at the local, county, state and national levels. Andrew Mergen, a professor at Harvard Law, said the Justice Department's memo was "very aggressive" and rooted in a longstanding campaign in the conservative legal movement to curtail citizen suits on constitutional grounds. The NAACP's lawsuit against xAI is in the Fifth Circuit, widely seen as the most conservative appeals court in the country. Because of that, the department "feels very assured that they have a certain home court advantage," said Mr. Mergen, who left the Justice Department's environment division in 2022 after a three-decade career there. It was notable that the filing was largely signed by political appointees, including such a high-ranking official as Mr. Woodward, rather than career departmental attorneys, Mr. Mergen said. "In my 33 years at the Department of Justice, I don't think I ever filed a pleading with the associate attorney general on it," he said. He saw that as a sign that the department had become politicized. Emily Tucker, vice president at the investment research firm Capstone, said the firm believed that a "conventional reading" of the Clean Air Act would push the court to rule in favor of the NAACP. But the Justice Department's memo could create some challenges for the group to get all of the remedies it sought, she said. For example, Ms. Tucker said, the national-security argument could be compelling to the judge, Debra M. Brown of the U.S. District Court for the District of Northern Mississippi. That could help carve out an exemption to pollution rules for data centers being used for defense functions. The arguments about citizen suits will be more challenging for the department to win, she said. "However, given the nature of the questions that have been raised, we think it's likely that this case will be appealed to the Fifth Circuit and potentially the Supreme Court," she said.

xAI's polluting turbines are 'vital' to war, DOJ argues

The Justice Department has intervened to help Elon Musk's company throw out the NAACP's pollution lawsuit, arguing that the gas turbines powering Grok are essential to military operations, including the Iran War. The US Justice Department has taken Elon Musk's side in a pollution lawsuit, arguing that the gas turbines powering his AI data centre are too important to national security to switch off. In a filing on Monday, the department, joined by the state of Mississippi, asked a court to dismiss the case the NAACP brought against xAI in April. It is an unusual move: the government intervening to defend a private company against an environmental claim. The NAACP sued over the methane gas turbines powering xAI's Colossus 2 data centre near Memphis, which it says run without the proper Clean Air Act permits. It has asked the court to halt them, citing higher 'risks of asthma attacks and heart disease' for nearby residents. 'National security' as a defence The Justice Department's argument is striking. Stopping the turbines, it wrote, 'threatens American national, economic, and energy security by seeking to shut off the power supply for artificial-intelligence innovation that supports the Department of War's military operations'. It said the government relies on just four AI models for mission-critical work on top-secret networks, and that xAI's Grok is one of them. Cameron Stanley, the Defense Department's chief digital and AI officer, filed separately to say Grok's government model supports 'vital national security missions', including the recent Iran War. In other words, the feed-the-war-machine argument now extends to the power plant behind the chatbot, days after questions over Grok's slow federal uptake shadowed the record SpaceX IPO that folded xAI in. An 'asthma capital' next door The community case is hard to wave away. The turbines emit nitrogen oxides, fine particulate matter and other hazardous pollutants, and they sit beside homes in a largely Black part of South Memphis. Memphis ranked second in the US for asthma-related emergency-room visits in 2024, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. The NAACP's suit named 27 turbines, but emails obtained by the Southern Environmental Law Center later showed xAI kept adding more, to around 46, after the case was filed. (Engadget puts the total at 57.) xAI has not been found liable, and denies it needs the permits the NAACP says it skipped. It filed its own motion to dismiss on Monday. The contradiction Musk can't shake The standoff sharpens a tension that trailed SpaceX into its IPO: the same Musk empire that sells Tesla solar burns gas, around the clock, to train Grok. That clash is not unique to Memphis. Across the industry, AI's power hunger is colliding with the grid and the communities near it, from Europe asking households to cut usage to US utilities planning $1.4tn in new spending to keep up. What is new is the government's willingness to label one company's private data centre a strategic asset, and to fight in court to keep it running. xAI's neighbours are now arguing not just with Musk, but with the Department of War.

DOJ aims to block suit over Musk data center pollution, citing national security

Gas turbines at an xAI data center in Memphis. (Brandon Dill/For The Washington Post) The Justice Department is seeking to quash a lawsuit against a power plant operating without permits that is run by Elon Musk's AI company, arguing that its gas-powered turbines are vital to national security interests, including the war in Iran. The NAACP and several environmental groups have sued Musk's xAI, saying the power plant's turbines violate the Clean Air Act, a statute long used by environmental groups. Located in Southaven, Mississippi, the plant supports xAI's Colossus 2 data center just over the state line in Memphis. The data center provides computing power for Grok, the company's flagship artificial intelligence model. In a Monday night filing, the Justice Department's No. 3 official asked a judge to halt the case, asserting that the NAACP -- or another private plaintiff -- could not sue under the Clean Air Act if the executive branch, responsible for enforcing the law, objected. The Clean Air Act includes a provision that allows private citizens and nonprofit organizations to sue to enforce it, similar to other environmental laws such as the Endangered Species Act. "We feel very confident about defeating these arguments, but it's essentially a massive power grab for the executive branch," said Kym Meyer, the litigation director at the Southern Environmental Law Center, which is representing the NAACP along with the nonprofit Earthjustice. Representatives for xAI did not respond to a request for comment. "We have never seen DOJ make this argument before," said Laura Thoms, the director of enforcement at Earthjustice. A Justice Department official until last year, she said that government briefs going back to the Reagan administration had "uniformly recognized the value of citizen suits in holding polluters accountable for the harm caused to their community." The government's filing asserts the opposite. "There is no question the United States is entitled to intervene" in the case, wrote Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward. He and a Defense Department official also asserted in the filings that the operation of xAI's artificial intelligence models was "a matter of paramount national security" because of their use in classified military operations. In an accompanying filing, the Defense Department official said that a version of Grok developed for the U.S. government had been deployed in an automated targeting and intelligence platform used in strikes against Iran. "In the event of armed conflict or other exigent circumstances affecting national security, DoW projects there is a significant likelihood of an immediate and substantial escalation in AI inference demands for Grok Gov Models," wrote Cameron Stanley, the Defense Department's top AI official, using an abbreviation for "Department of War." The Pentagon announced last year that it would begin using xAI's technology under a contract worth up to $200 million, as part of an effort "to address critical national security challenges," the agency's Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office said in a news release. The AI company said the tools would be part of a suite known as Grok for Government. Months later, the General Services Administration announced that Grok was being made available to federal agencies for 42 cents per organization. The latest development, along with the government's prior intervention in a separate Grok case, highlighted what appears to be increasing dependency on -- and defense of -- the tools provided by Musk's artificial intelligence start-up. The Justice Department announced in April that it was intervening in a lawsuit brought by xAI against a Colorado law that would take aim at "algorithmic discrimination," in which protected groups face potential consequences of programming biases and other shortcomings of artificial intelligence. The Justice Department cited national security in its decision to intervene in April. "Laws like Colorado's that force AI models to produce false results or promote ideological bias threaten national and economic security and must be stopped," Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate said in a statement at the time. That case is still pending. In Mississippi, the NAACP's lawsuit is seeking to halt the operation of the power plant as well as financial penalties. The lawsuit contends that the power plant emits "significant amounts" of pollutants, including nitrogen oxides and formaldehyde, into predominantly Black communities nearby. XAI has argued that it does not need permits because it is housing the turbines on truck beds to make them "temporary," and that they were green-lit without permits by the state's Department of Environmental Quality. The NAACP's suit, however, contends that Mississippi did not have the authority to do so. The company sought to dismiss the suit in a filing Monday. It is a subsidiary of SpaceX, whose initial public offering last week made Musk a trillionaire. Faiz Siddiqui and Evan Halper contributed to this report.

Justice Department pressures court to drop NAACP's lawsuit against xAI data center

The NAACP and residents of Memphis, Tennessee recently took xAI to court over environmental concerns. Credit: The Washington Post / Contributor / The Washington Post via Getty Images The Trump administration is pushing back against actions to address the environmental impact of data centers as it uses AI to beef up its war machine. Late Monday (June 15) night, the Department of Justice intervened in a Mississippi federal court case, urging the court to dismiss the lawsuit in a memo from associate attorney general Stanley Woodward, Jr. The lawsuit was brought forth by the NAACP. It argues that the presence of unpermitted gas-powered turbines operated by xAI and its subsidiary, MZX Tech, in Southaven, Mississippi disproportionately pollute Black neighborhoods and violate the Clean Air Act. In the notice, the Justice Department argued that the lawsuit is a national security threat because it "seeks to shut off the power supply for artificial-intelligence innovation that supports the Department of War's military operations," the New York Times reported. It's not the NAACP's first time suing over the widespread environmental concerns prompted by expansive data center investment. In January, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ruled that xAI's Colossus methane gas turbines in Memphis, Tennessee could not skirt air regulation requirements. It was considered a victory for the NAACP, which filed a lawsuit over the turbines' potentially cancerous nitrogen oxide emissions. But those same turbines are also operating just across the border in Mississippi, powering xAI's Colossus 2 data center. Building on the previous win, the NAACP is now seeking an injunction and $124,000 per day per violation payout from xAI for its Mississippi operation. The Justice Department's memo is a rare instance of the agency intervening to prevent environmental law from being enforced, advocates say. In addition to a call to halt the case, Woodward argued that individual citizens and groups should not have the power to sue over the enforcement of the Clean Air Act and asserted that the federal government should have "unchallenged authority" to stop them. The Act has historically provided a pathway for citizen suits on behalf of affected communities and environmental groups.

Trump's DoJ intervenes to back Elon Musk in datacenter pollution lawsuit

Justice department urges judge to throw out suit brought by NAACP over xAI's methane-gas turbines in Mississippi The Trump administration is coming to the defense of Elon Musk in a lawsuit over claims that his artificial intelligence company, xAI, is polluting residential neighborhoods in north Mississippi. The justice department told a federal court late on Monday to throw out the case. The lawsuit was filed by the NAACP in April over allegations that xAI and its subsidiary MZX Tech set up dozens of methane-gas turbines to power its datacenter in Southaven, Mississippi, without air permits. The suit claims these turbines emit toxic pollutants in violation of the Clean Air Act, and is asking a judge to block xAI from operating the machines. The Department of Justice says this datacenter is being used to train and develop AI models that are "critical to the economy and the Department of War" and the turbines are necessary to power the facility. In a 33-page memo filed in Mississippi federal court, the government also claims that under the Clean Air Act, it can terminate such "citizen lawsuits". "The Department of Justice will not sit idly by while private organizations use environmental laws to undermine our national security," said Adam Gustafson, a deputy assistant attorney general for the justice department's environment and natural resources division. xAI's central focus is a chatbot called Grok, which is similar to ChatGPT but has been known for controversy including nonconsensual deepfakes, sexualized images of woman and minors and referring to itself as "MechaHitler". The justice department wrote in its filing that Grok's continued availability was "paramount" to national security and the military version of the chatbot had assisted US forces "to deploy over 2,000 munitions to 2,000 distinct targets within 96 hours" in the war against Iran. xAI's parent company, SpaceX, had the largest initial public offering in history last week valuing it at more than $2tn. The IPO also minted Musk as the world's first trillionaire. In recent weeks, xAI entered partnerships with Google and Anthropic to rent space in its datacenters for billions of dollars annually. Lawyers representing the NAACP said affected communities had long had the right to file suits against polluters and that the justice department cannot simply quash those cases. They added that all companies, even those contracting with the federal government, must follow environmental laws. "There is no moral or legal precedent for this," said Laura Thoms, the director of enforcement for Earthjustice, which is representing the NAACP, along with the Southern Environmental Law Center. "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." xAI has two datacenters in the region, nicknamed "Colossus 1" and "Colossus 2". They are massive facilities, with the latter occupying 1m sq ft in Southaven. Colossus 1 is located in Memphis and a few miles from historically Black neighborhoods that have long dealt with harmful pollution. Both datacenters have been subject to community backlash and protests. The NAACP alleges that xAI has illegally installed and is operating 57 gas turbines at its Southaven facility - each one the size of a large bus. The group claims the datacenter has the capacity to emit more than 5,000 tons of harmful nitrogen oxides per year, along with fine particulate matter and toxic chemicals like formaldehyde, making it one of the top polluters in the region. These pollutants are tied to an increase in 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 director of environmental and climate justice for the NAACP. "This should not be up for debate." xAI did not return a request for comment.