Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), the ranking member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, sent a letter to SpaceXAI CEO Elon Musk demanding answers about the company’s Colossus 1 and Colossus 2 data centers. The data center sites, which operate near the Tennessee-Mississippi border, are accused of harming local communities. Mississippi Mayor Allegedly Tells Resident To “Consider Selling” Home Amid Noise Complaints About Plant Powering Nearby Data Centers “Communities across the nation are frustrated and angry about the pace of giant data centers being constructed in their back yards,” Pallone wrote in his letter to Musk. “Americans are concerned about what data centers and Big Tech’s push for more AI means for their communities, jobs, property values, and future. Electricity prices are skyrocketing, the electric grid is strained, our clean air and water are being polluted, and noise is wearing on communities’ health and patience," Pallone continued. “What has also become apparent from my examination of data centers is your company’s disregard for the health and well-being of local communities,” Pallone wrote to Musk. “Your rapid rollout of gas-powered turbines into vulnerable communities without adequate oversight or regulation creates a massive health risk to those communities. And any potential savings to the community’s electricity costs resulting from trucking in off-grid gas turbines comes at great cost to their health. This is an unacceptable trade-off," he continued. US House Democrat asks Musk to answer for polluting xAI data centers https://t.co/rYMbGNlE2O https://t.co/rYMbGNlE2O — Reuters (@Reuters) July 30, 2026 Reuters has more: The letter follows growing scrutiny of the energy demands and environmental impacts of AI data centers as technology ​companies race ​to expand computing ⁠capacity. Reuters reported this month that Musk's AI company xAI had installed 59 natural gas turbines ​for its Colossus 2 project without securing ​federal ⁠clean-air permits, according to communications between regulators and company representatives. Reuters found the turbines were located near predominantly Black ⁠communities and ​that potential emissions exceeded thresholds ​that would typically require federal permits. "SpaceXAI’s Colossus 1 data center is powered by 35 gas-powered turbines, making the site the third-largest source of ozone-causing pollution in Shelby County, Tennessee – ahead of a nearby refinery and power plant – all without any air permits or protections, in violation of the Clean Air Act," a press release from Energy & Commerce Committee Democrats read. "Just five miles away, on the other side of the border in Mississippi, SpaceXAI has trucked in at least 60 gas-powered turbines for its Colossus 2 data center – all of which are also operating without air permits or safeguards. According to one analysis, this makes the Colossus 2 turbines the largest source of pollution in the Memphis area – five times as polluting as the next largest source, the Memphis airport – and the largest emitter of nitrogen oxide in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas," it continued. "Of all the companies involved in the meetings with Committee staff, SpaceXAI has been the least willing to answer questions. At a meeting with Committee staff last month, SpaceXAI representatives were unwilling to engage in serious discussion and were the least knowledgeable about the company’s actions and plans," the press release stated. "Taken together, the turbines at Colossus 2 are capable of annually pumping out approximately 5,000 tons of nitrogen oxide, over 7,000 tons of carbon monoxide, nearly 200 tons of sulfur dioxide, hundreds of tons of volatile organic compounds, hundreds of tons of particulate matter, and over 40 tons of formaldehyde, which is toxic even in small amounts," Pallone wrote in his letter to Musk. "This represents an astounding increase in emissions in the Memphis area making it a major source of criteria and hazardous air pollutants," the letter continued. "These emissions present numerous health risks to the population, including aggravation and development of asthma, respiratory infections, and cardiovascular disease," it added. SpaceX faces House Energy Committee demand to tour its AI data centers in Memphis https://t.co/zW3PxybsuV — CNBC (@CNBC) July 30, 2026 CNBC shared further: SpaceX’s artificial intelligence facilities, known as Colossus and Colossus 2, include three data centers packed with cutting-edge Nvidia processors. They were built by xAI, before SpaceX acquired Musk’s startup, which is the developer of Grok’s AI models, chatbot and image editing tools. The facilities are at the heart of SpaceX’s AI ambitions, as the company tries to compete with the likes of OpenAI and Anthropic, and to eventually build orbital data centers. Pallone excoriated SpaceX and Musk for a “disregard for the health and well-being of local communities.” He said the company has created “a massive health risk” to neighbors by “trucking in off-grid gas turbines” to power the facilities, all without the proper permits and pollution controls. President Trump’s Department of Justice has filed a motion to intervene, and to effectively help xAI fight off a lawsuit, which was filed by environmental advocates and the NAACP in Mississippi to stop the company’s use of allegedly illegal, air-polluting turbines. “The Trump Administration has essentially claimed that it alone decides whether SpaceXAI and other companies get a free pass to pollute unimpeded,” Pallone wrote. “But just because the Trump Administration will bend over backward to give tech companies free rein over community air, water, and land does not make your actions legal.” New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat, enacted legislation earlier this month to ensure data center operators pay a fair share for electricity, instead of shifting costs to residents and businesses. "In addition to being harmful to the nearby communities and the environment, the strategy that SpaceXAI has repeatedly deployed also appears to be illegal. The position that SpaceXAI has apparently taken, and that local regulators seem to have accepted, is that because the gas turbines are located on trailers, they constitute 'mobile sources' of pollution and may therefore be utilized without permits for up to one year under the Clean Air Act," Pallone wrote in the letter. "But this reading of the Clean Air Act—whether by SpaceXAI or a state or local regulator—is clearly wrong," he added. "Given the inability of SpaceXAI to provide adequate time and information in that meeting and in order to bring much-needed transparency to SpaceXAI’s operations at Colossus 1 and Colossus 2, please provide responses to the below requests by August 11, 2026," Pallone wrote. "My Committee staff will also reach out to discuss dates when I and my Committee staff can visit the Colossus 1 and Colossus 2 sites, including their energy generation sites," he continued. Some of the information Pallone requested from the company includes: A list of all turbines in use at any point for the purposes of powering either the Colossus 1 or Colossus 2 sites, as well as their emissions and permitting application details All communications and records relating to Colossus 1 and Colossus 2 between employees or representatives of SpaceXAI and various state, local, and federal entities – including the White House Analyses, reports, and documentation related to the emissions, power consumption, and water usage of both the Colossus 1 and Colossus 2 data center sites Read the full letter HERE. What are your thoughts? TAP HERE TO ADD YOUR VOTE The post House Democrat Demands Records And Tour Of SpaceXAI Data Center Sites Accused Of Disregarding “Health And Well-Being Of Local Communities” appeared first on 100PercentFedUp.com.