DOJ Lawyers Call xAI ‘Vital’ to National Security in NAACP Lawsuit
▼ Summary
– The DOJ intervened in a lawsuit over xAI’s gas turbines, siding with the company and arguing that stopping the turbines threatens national security by cutting power to AI supporting military operations.
– The DOJ, xAI, and Mississippi asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the NAACP, which alleges xAI violated the Clean Air Act by running unpermitted turbines at its Colossus 2 data center in Southaven.
– The NAACP claims the turbines increase health risks like asthma and heart disease in pollution-burdened communities, and sought a preliminary injunction to halt their use.
– A Defense Department official stated that xAI’s Grok model supports classified national security missions, including recent strikes against Iran, and stopping the turbines would threaten these interests.
– The number of unpermitted turbines at the Colossus 2 site grew from 27 to 57 since April, leading to significant increases in emissions of nitrogen oxide, PM2.5, and formaldehyde.
The Department of Justice stepped into a legal dispute over xAI’s gas turbines on Monday, filing a brief that backs Elon Musk’s company. The DOJ argued that halting the operation of these natural gas turbines “threatens American national, economic, and energy security” by cutting off power to artificial intelligence systems that support military operations under the Department of War.
In a joint motion, the DOJ, xAI, and the state of Mississippi asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, originally filed by the NAACP in April. The NAACP alleges that xAI is violating the Clean Air Act and endangering public health by running unpermitted natural gas turbines at its second data center, Colossus 2, in Southaven, Mississippi. In May, the NAACP sought a preliminary injunction to stop the turbines, arguing that their unpermitted operation “increases risks of asthma attacks and heart disease” in communities already burdened by heavy pollution.
xAI and the DOJ did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
According to the DOJ’s memorandum, only four AI models,including Grok,currently support “mission-critical operations across Secret and Top-Secret classified networks.” A separate declaration from Cameron Stanley, the Department of Defense’s chief digital and artificial intelligence officer, details how the military relies on Grok’s Gov model for “vital national security missions,” including its use in recent strikes against Iran. Stanley warns that forcing xAI to shut down the gas turbines powering Colossus 2 “directly threatens ongoing national security interests.”
xAI, which operates under SpaceX, gained national attention in 2024 when residents of southwest Memphis raised concerns that the company had started running unpermitted gas turbines at its first data center. The Memphis area already suffers from some of the highest asthma rates in the country, and residents feared additional pollution from the unpermitted equipment. State agencies in Tennessee and Mississippi have claimed that xAI is allowed to operate the turbines for a year without clean air permits,a stance the NAACP argues contradicts Environmental Protection Agency regulations.
The original NAACP lawsuit identified 27 turbines operating without a permit at the Southaven site. However, emails between xAI and state regulators obtained by the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), which is partnering with the NAACP, reveal that by mid-May, the number had grown to 57 turbines operating without permits at Colossus 2. Many of these turbines, the emails show, were installed weeks after the lawsuit was filed.
This expansion from 27 to 57 turbines has led to a 111 percent increase in nitrogen oxide emissions, an 83 percent rise in PM2.5 emissions, and an 88 percent jump in formaldehyde emissions since April, according to the SELC.
(Source: Wired)
