Neighbors say Elon Musk’s AI power plant sounds like a ‘jet engine.’ Feds tried to end another suit citing environmental concerns — a judge said no

“Activities that were once routine, like sitting or dining outside, opening windows, relaxing indoors, or resting at night, have been materially impaired or rendered impossible by the continuous industrial noise and vibration,” the lawsuit says.

Meanwhile, another legal case against SpaceXAI is also heating up.

On Oct. 20, a U.S. District Court judge ruled against the federal government’s argument to dismiss a lawsuit over xAI’s gas-fired power plant to support its Colossus 2 data center. The lawsuit alleges the xAI data center, located in Southaven, violated the Clean Air Act by using gas-fueled generators to run a data center without government regulatory approval.

New ruling on SpaceXAI’s data centers adds to the legality concerns

U.S. District Court judge Debra Brown ruled that the U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency couldn’t terminate the lawsuit filed by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ​and the Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP against the Elon Musk-backed technology company.

Brown ruled against the agency, stating “The EPA’s role as a primary enforcer of the Clean Air Act does not mean that the federal government retains complete control over all Clean Air Act litigation.”

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) has rejected the lawsuit’s merit, noting that the “MDEQ has determined that portable/temporary turbines do not require an air permit,” Reuters reported.

While the NAACP’s case will continue, the Department of Justive could still potentially intervene, per the judge’s verdict. For example, the DOJ could back MDEQ’s position that the portable gas turbines fueling the xAI data center are legally exempt from permitting requirements. Or, it could argue that any move to block or reduce a power plant’s energy supply could interfere with broader federal interests.

“The Executive Branch, in coordination with states, (not the NAACP of Mississippi) retains ultimate control over enforcement of the Clean Air Act,” the DOJ told Moneywise. “We’re glad the United States has finally been allowed to intervene in litigation with serious national security implications. We’ll continue to fight attempts to wrest control of Executive power from the Executive Branch.”

Ill effects from noise pollution can be impactful

Experts say noise pollution, at the heart of the Tennessee class-action lawsuit, can harm residents near power plants in multiple ways. The first casualty is usually sleep.

As Jasmine Mines, attorney and owner of Mines Law Firm in Los Angeles, told Moneywise, “Broken sleep brings fatigue, poor concentration, and stress, and long-term environmental noise exposure is associated with high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Children lose the sleep that learning depends on, and older adults and people with heart conditions have the least reserve.”

Then, you have to factor in sinking property values, as the Tennessee lawsuit also indicates.

A September 2026 working paper from UC Berkeley’s Energy Institute at Haas, covering 346 large data centers nationwide, estimated that data centers reduce home values within three miles of it by 3% on average over five years. Values of homes within one mile fall by 7.2% on average. Home values across the country have fallen by $20.6 billion, the report also found.

“A 7% drop on a $250,000 house is $17,500 of equity, before any spending on windows, insulation, or air filtration,” Mines said of the report’s findings. “Even when prices hold, the cost of living in the home can rise.”

Legal cases on data centers may accelerate

When it comes to the NAACP xAI data center case, experts told Moneywise that the latest judge verdict could open doors for citizens who feel big corporations are overlooking U.S. environmental laws.

“This does not mean that xAI is doing anything wrong, but it does note the ruling allows the NAACP to pursue their case against them” Jamie Wright, an attorney at The Wright Law Firm in Los Angeles, said. “There may be cases of nuisance if you live around factories that may affect your quality of life.”