{"id":43671,"date":"2025-06-18T03:59:29","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T08:59:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=43671"},"modified":"2025-06-18T04:00:48","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T09:00:48","slug":"naacp-announces-plans-to-sue-musks-xai-over-pollution-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=43671","title":{"rendered":"NAACP announces plans to sue Musk’s xAI over pollution concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The NAACP announced Tuesday that it intends to bring a lawsuit under the Clean Air Act against Elon Musk\u2019s startup xAI, which launched a supercomputer project<\/a> in Memphis, Tennessee, last year. The company\u2019s use of gas turbines to power the supercomputer, Colossus, runs afoul of environmental regulations and is worsening pollution in the area, the Southern Environmental Law Center, which represents the NAACP, wrote in a letter to xAI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The turbines emit nitrogen oxides, a key contributor to smog, and formaldehyde, among other pollutants, according to their manufacturer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last month, the NAACP called for an emergency order<\/a> to shut down the supercomputer until a permit is obtained. Tuesday\u2019s announcement was a further escalation, with the organization notifying the company, as required by law, of its intent to sue unless the company addresses the alleged violations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe cannot afford to normalize this kind of environmental injustice \u2014 where billion-dollar companies set up polluting operations in Black neighborhoods without any permits and think they\u2019ll get away with it because the people don\u2019t have the power to fight back,\u201d NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said in a statement. \u201cWe will not allow xAI to get away with this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Southern Environmental Law Center argues that xAI was required to have a permit before bringing the turbines onsite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the county health department, the mayor and the Chamber of Commerce have said permits aren\u2019t required for the turbines\u2019 first year of use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement Tuesday, xAI said it\u2019s following the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe take our commitment to the community and environment seriously,\u201d an xAI spokesperson said in a statement. \u201cThe temporary power generation units are operating in compliance with applicable laws.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colossus came online in September 2024. The data center, housed in a former home appliance factory, is responsible for training X\u2019s Grok chatbot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although economic leaders and local officials have praised xAI\u2019s decision to locate in Memphis for its revenue-generating potential, residents of a nearby historically underserved Black neighborhood called Boxtown are skeptical of the venture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent months they have mobilized against xAI, which is now seeking a permanent permit for a total of 15 turbines for Colossus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Shelby County Health Department, which said in May that it expected the permit review process to take 60 days, said \u201cit would not be commenting on any potential or pending litigation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

State Rep. Justin J. Pearson, whose district includes Boxtown, likened the current battle to the biblical story of David and the Goliath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re Davids in this fight,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s alright to be David because we know how the story ends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Memphis Mayor Paul Young has defended the project, recently writing in The Commercial Appeal<\/a> that it\u2019s estimated to bring $12 million in tax revenue to the city in its first year. He also said that a newly introduced ordinance would direct one-fourth of that revenue to communities within 5 miles of the facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In its permit application, xAI provided manufacturer information about the pollutants the turbines emit. Representatives for xAI have previously said the company would remove some turbines and equip the remaining ones with technology to lower their emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advocates say South Memphis was already dealing with industrial pollution, long before xAI\u2019s arrival. The letter sent Tuesday references the city\u2019s ozone levels and Shelby County\u2019s high rates of asthma-related emergency room visits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because the federal lawsuit would be brought under the Clean Air Act, the NAACP was required to provide a 60-day notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMemphis deserves honesty,\u201d said Patrick Anderson, senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center. \u201cMemphis deserves transparency and, most of all, Memphis deserves clean air.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nbcnews<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The NAACP announced Tuesday that it intends to bring a lawsuit under the Clean Air Act against Elon Musk\u2019s startup xAI, which launched a supercomputer project in Memphis, Tennessee, last year. The company\u2019s use of gas turbines to power the supercomputer, Colossus, runs afoul of environmental regulations and is worsening pollution in the area, the Southern Environmental […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":43672,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1154],"tags":[1745,1330,7186,10213],"class_list":["post-43671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trending","tag-lawsuits","tag-musk","tag-naacp","tag-pollution-issues"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43671"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43673,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43671\/revisions\/43673"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/43672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}