A federal judge has denied xAI's motion to dismiss an NAACP lawsuit accusing the SpaceX-owned company of failing to obtain permits for the gas turbines powering its Colossus data center outside Memphis. In a ruling that surprised absolutely no one who has ever encountered the phrase 'mobile combustion turbine,' Judge Debra M. Brown allowed the case to proceed.

The Southern Environmental Law Center, suing on behalf of the NAACP, alleged that xAI "installed and operated at least 35 combustion turbines and other sources of air pollution at the Colossus site without ever obtaining the necessary preconstruction or operating air permits," and accused the company of violating the Clean Air Act. xAI's defense was essentially that the turbines are mobile, and therefore exempt from permitting requirements - a legal argument that presumably works better if your data center is, say, a food truck.

Judge Brown was unpersuaded on multiple fronts. "Because the plaintiffs have statutory standing under the Clean Air Act, because the combustion turbines are not 'mobile sources' under Mississippi's [State Implementation Plan], and because the citizen suit provision does not violate Article II of the Constitution or the private nondelegation doctrine, the plaintiffs' claims will proceed," she wrote. On xAI's claim that citizen lawsuits are unconstitutional, Brown added: "Because citizen suit plaintiffs sue on their own behalf, in their own name, and seek penalties that redress harm to themselves, they are not exercising the federal government's executive power." In other words: no.

TechCrunch has reached out to SpaceX for comment. The NAACP's director of environmental and climate justice, Abre' Connor, called the ruling "another important victory in our effort to hold xAI accountable," noting that a similar motion to dismiss from the Department of Justice was denied earlier this month. "The courts have repeatedly rejected attempts by xAI and the DOJ to dismiss the NAACP's Clean Air Act case, affirming our right to pursue justice for communities impacted by pollution," Connor said. "Our position has been clear: xAI cannot operate gas turbines without the required permits."

The lawsuit proceeds amid a sharp turn in public opinion against data centers. New York recently passed a moratorium on new data centers, and other state and local governments are considering similar measures. The backlash has even prompted Amazon and Microsoft to promise to stop using NDAs in their dealings with government agencies - a concession that suggests the industry has noticed the pitchforks - and could be a significant factor in the imminent U.S. midterm elections.