The US Justice Department filed to intervene in a Clean Air Act lawsuit against xAI on June 16, arguing that the company’s unpermitted natural gas turbines are essential to national security. The move effectively puts the federal government in the position of defending Elon Musk’s AI venture against environmental compliance claims.
The lawsuit, originally filed by the NAACP in April 2026, alleges that xAI’s turbines at its Colossus 2 data center in Southaven, Mississippi, violate the Clean Air Act and pose health risks to surrounding communities. The DOJ’s response: those turbines power AI systems that support classified military operations, and shutting them down would compromise American defense capabilities.
Unpermitted turbines and classified networks
xAI initially deployed 27 gas turbines to power its supercomputing resources at the Southaven facility, located near the Tennessee border. That number has since ballooned to 57, all operating without the air quality permits typically required under federal environmental regulations.
The DOJ’s memorandum, signed by Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr., leans heavily on national security justifications. A Department of Defense declaration submitted alongside the filing confirmed that Grok, xAI’s AI model, supports operations across classified networks. That includes recent military actions related to Iran, according to the filing.
