Trump does not have free reign to dismiss Clean Air Act violations, judge rules

When the NAACP sued SpaceXAI over its use of 69 gas turbines in Mississippi, alleging that they pollute the air and violate the Clean Air Act, the federal government filed a motion to join the lawsuit on the side of SpaceXAI. U.S. District Judge Debra Brown ruled that the government can join the lawsuit, but cannot, as it also attempted to do, dismiss it entirely because the Environmental Protection Agency enforces the Clean Air Act.

Mississippi Today reports:

“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,” Brown wrote in court filings.

“Congress intended to allow individuals to sue even when federal and state governments may, for whatever reason, decline to enforce the Clean Air Act,” Brown wrote. 

The lawsuit asks Brown to prohibit SpaceXAI from operating the gas turbines until the company undergoes Mississippi's permitting process. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality has told SpaceXAI that it does not need permits for its temporary wind turbines, and has stated that the turbines are compliant with state regulations.