Judge rejects Trump’s wild claim EPA can dismiss data center pollution lawsuits

A federal judge has rejected the Trump administration’s claim that the Environmental Protection Agency can dismiss Clean Air Act citizen lawsuits at will. The ruling allows the NAACP’s case over pollution from gas turbines at SpaceXAI’s Memphis data centre to proceed, preserving a route for communities to challenge alleged unlawful emissions when the government does not act.

The NAACP says the turbines were installed without permits and could worsen pollution in nearby, predominantly Black neighbourhoods. Its lawsuit seeks pollution controls and civil penalties of up to $124,426 per day for each violation. Judge Debra Brown said the Clean Air Act contains no authority for the EPA administrator to unilaterally dismiss a citizen suit; the administration had relied on a narrow exception that does not apply when it is not itself seeking to enforce the law.