Federal judge reportedly rejects EPA unilateral-dismissal claim in data-center pollution suit

Rejecting a power to end a citizen suit unilaterally

According to the report, US District Judge Debra Brown ruled that nothing in the Clean Air Act authorizes the EPA administrator to unilaterally dismiss a citizen suit. The NAACP suit seeks action over alleged emissions from gas turbines powering the Colossus data center in Memphis, Tennessee. The ruling did not resolve the underlying pollution allegations or the merits of the lawsuit.

Before the reported ruling, the US government had asked to dismiss the NAACP's Clean Air Act citizen suit, asserting that the EPA could do so unilaterally.

The reported order rejected that asserted unilateral dismissal authority, leaving the citizen suit in place. The government may still intervene on other grounds if it explains its position by October 23.

The reported decision addresses whether the federal government can terminate a Clean Air Act lawsuit brought by private citizens when it has not itself acted to enforce the law. It keeps this specific suit active while leaving the alleged pollution claims to be decided.