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document July 30, 2026

MDEQ + MZX TECH (xAI) AGREED ORDER

The Agreed Order shows that Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) plans to allow the company to run some of its so-called temporary turbines for more than a year —…
Rev. Robert Tipton Jr., the branch president of the DeSoto County NAACP, is opposed to the methane gas turbines operating in his Southaven, Mississippi community to power a nearby xAI data center in Memphis, Tennessee. (Brad Zweerink / Earthjustice)
Article June 23, 2026

The Battle to Stop the AI Industry’s Illegal Pollution

Across the U.S., Earthjustice is challenging plans to power data centers in ways that threaten communities.
Dozens of unpermitted gas turbines, the target of a citizen suit filed by the NAACP, operate in Mississippi to power xAI's nearby Memphis data center. (Brad Zweerink / Earthjustice)
Article June 16, 2026

Why Trump Is Going After Your Right to Take Polluters to Court (and How We’re Fighting Back)

Citizens suits are powerful tools to enforce the law, which is why the Trump administration is attacking them.
In the News: The New York Times June 16, 2026

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

Laura Thoms, Director of Enforcement, Earthjustice: “It’s remarkable for the United States to intervene on behalf of a polluter in a case like this. Ordinarily, they would intervene to enforce the law.”
Thermal drone imagery shows more than a dozen unpermitted gas turbines operating at xAI’s gas plant in Southaven, Miss. (Evan Simon / Floodlight)
Press Release June 16, 2026

Trump Administration Attempts Massive Power Grab in Defense of Musk’s Company, xAI

DOJ wants to give itself veto power over citizen suits, a key legal tool used to protect communities from illegal pollution for over 50 years
In the News: The Guardian June 6, 2026

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

Laura Thoms, Director of Enforcement: “There is no moral or legal precedent for this. 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.”
The xAI data center, Colossus II, in Memphis, Tennessee, just north of Southaven, Mississippi. (Brad Zweerink / Earthjustice)
Press Release May 6, 2026

NAACP Asks Court for Emergency Action to Stop Illegal Air Pollution from xAI’s Data Center Power Plant

Instead of addressing its Clean Air Act violations, Elon Musk’s company added even more unpermitted gas turbines to its illegal powerplant — saddling nearby communities with harmful toxic emissions
document May 6, 2026

xAI: Preliminary Injunction Brief

NAACP filed a request for a preliminary injunction to stop unpermitted air pollution from an illegal power plant built by Elon Musk’s company, xAI, and its subsidiary, MZX Tech.
video April 14, 2026

We’re suing xAI for an illegal power plant fueling its Colossus II data center.

Laura Thoms, Director of Enforcement at Earthjustice, explains our lawsuit. There are no exceptions that would allow this major source of pollution to evade the law.
document April 14, 2026

Complaint: NAACP Sues xAI for Clean Air Act Violations

SELC and Earthjustice are representing the Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP and the national NAACP in a lawsuit against xAI and its subsidiary, MZX Tech, for the tech companies’…
Gas-powered turbines, with more being built, operate in Southaven, Mississippi, to power a large xAI data center just to the north in Memphis, Tennessee. The huge gas turbines occupy a sprawling 114 acres — the equivalent of nearly 87 football fields. (Brad Zweerink / Earthjustice)
Press Release April 14, 2026

NAACP Sues xAI for Illegal Pollution from Data Center Power Plant

Elon Musk’s company is accused of violating the Clean Air Act to power its Colossus 2 data center
The xAI data center, Colossus II, in Memphis, Tennessee, just north of Southaven, Mississippi. (Brad Zweerink / Earthjustice)
case April 14, 2026

Illegal Pollution from Data Center Power Plants Shouldn’t Harm Our Communities. We’re Suing xAI.

The lawsuit explains that xAI is illegally operating 27 gas turbines without an air permit in Southaven, Mississippi, effectively building a power plant for its Colossus 2 data center, which…
Press Release February 13, 2026

NAACP Threatens Lawsuit Over xAI’s Unpermitted Gas Turbines in Mississippi

Notice alleges xAI built an illegal de facto power plant that is polluting Mississippi communities to power a data center
document February 13, 2026

60-day Notice of Intent to Sue xAI: Southaven, Mississippi

Notice of intent to sue for violations of the Clean Air Act at the gas turbines power plant located at 2875 Stanton Road S., Southaven, MS, that powers xAI’s Colossus…