We, the undersigned residents of Southaven, Horn Lake, and surrounding communities, demand a full and immediate shutdown of operations at the xAI (MZX Tech LLC) gas turbine facility located at 2875 Stanton Road S, Southaven, MS, 38671.

This facility poses serious risks to public health, air quality, safety, and overall quality of life. It was launched without public notice, without an independent health or environmental review, and without transparency from either the City of Southaven or the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ).

According to DeSoto County GIS data, the facility sits just 1,500 feet from the nearest homes and within one mile of at least three additional neighborhoods. It also sits within two miles of at least ten schools, three daycares, eleven parks, two libraries, and 27 churches.

Southaven Mayor Darren Musselwhite has claimed the turbines are operating under a “temporary permit,” yet no public record exists showing that the facility is covered by any valid air permit. In an email to a concerned resident, he wrote that he “initiated discussions with MDEQ professionals long before any formal permitting process began.” However, no documentation has been provided to confirm when or how those discussions occurred, and this communication was never disclosed to the public at the time. If those conversations did happen, they occurred behind closed doors, without community notice or input.

The site is currently operating 18 gas turbines without an air permit, using a temporary exemption to bypass pollution limits and public engagement. The facility is exploiting Rule 2.13.D of Mississippi’s air regulations, which allows temporary operation of portable combustion equipment for up to 12 months without a permit, provided it remains “mobile” and “temporary.” Applying this exemption to 18 high-emission turbines clustered on a single site stretches the original purpose of the rule far beyond its intent.

These turbines have been running since at least mid-August, and according to a November 2025 email from xAI’s own consultants to MDEQ, many are operating 16 to 24 hours per day, generating between 13 and 25 megawatts of power each. This level of continuous, high-output operation contradicts any claim that they are being used on a truly temporary or limited basis.

The scale and projected output of this facility, including plans for 41 permanent turbines, far exceeds the scope of a minor or “temporary” source. Both DeSoto and Shelby Counties already hold failing grades for ozone pollution from the American Lung Association. Authorizing additional pollution, especially from unpermitted sources, is reckless and unacceptable.

According to MDEQ documents obtained via public records requests, air modeling for the proposed full project projects 423 tons of nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) per year, more than four times the federal Significant Emission Rate (SER) threshold under the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program. Emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), and total particulate matter (PM₁₀ and PM₂.₅) also exceed their respective SER thresholds.

Despite this, no emissions data have been released for the 18 unpermitted turbines currently operating, and no air-quality monitoring is being conducted on-site. NOₓ and other pollutants are linked to asthma, stroke, heart attacks, cancer, and premature death, especially in children, older adults, and those with preexisting conditions. Even short-term spikes can trigger respiratory distress and emergency visits. PM₂.₅ exposure has also been linked to increased aggression and violent behavior, particularly in youth, due to its impact on neurological and behavioral regulation. Several of these pollutants, especially PM₂.₅, are also known to increase the risk of miscarriage, preterm birth, and low birth weight. Both Tennessee and Mississippi currently rank as two of the worst states in the nation for both maternal and infant mortality. Continuing operations here is a direct threat to public health.

There is no official EPA air monitor near the xAI site to track what residents may be breathing. The closest government-operated monitors are in Hernando and Memphis, both miles away and unable to reflect local exposure. The MDEQ monitor in Hernando does not measure ozone pollution at all, only PM₂.₅. In the absence of formal oversight, residents and community partners have installed an air quality monitor themselves. However, this grassroots effort does not replace the responsibility of city and state agencies to collect, validate, and act on pollution data. There is still no enforceable, government-run monitoring system in place to detect violations or protect public health near this facility.

The Mayor has acknowledged in direct correspondence that he engaged in months of internal planning and discussions with engineers and consultants before the public became aware of this project. To date, the only public-facing communications have been a Facebook post, a city website blog entry, and a brief statement during a Board of Aldermen meeting, all three authored or delivered by the mayor and repeating identical language verbatim. There have been no city-led public meetings, no mailings or press releases, and no proactive communication with residents. Any additional responses have come only after residents initiated contact.

This is not the first time xAI has taken advantage of regulatory gaps. At its Memphis site (Colossus 1), the company operated turbines without proper permits, failed to disclose full turbine counts, and required city officials to sign confidentiality agreements that kept residents in the dark. This precedent raises major red flags about what may be happening now in Southaven under the same “temporary” justification.

These turbines are also compounding an already overburdened environment. Communities near the xAI site are already impacted by pollution from the Memphis airport, freight trains, highway traffic, and other nearby industrial operations. The addition of high-emission gas turbines worsens this cumulative burden and increases health risks, especially for vulnerable populations.

Meanwhile, Southaven and Horn Lake residents are already living with near-constant industrial noise and persistent construction noise from the facility. These disruptions are affecting sleep, concentration, mental health, and daily life. City officials have failed to acknowledge the turbines as the source of much of the relentless noise. They’ve offered inconsistent and contradictory explanations, and have taken no meaningful action despite weeks of complaints. Noise from heavy construction activity seems to occur almost exclusively at night, for reasons that remain unclear.

These impacts may also reduce property values, increase insurance premiums, and make nearby homes more difficult to sell, with no disclosure to or consent from affected residents.

Southaven city water records from a public records request show that the Stanton Road site used 98,763 gallons of city water between September 8 and October 8, 2025. However, in an email submitted to MDEQ, MZX Tech’s consulting firm confirmed that all ten TM2500 turbines on-site are operating with demineralized water injection as an emissions control method, which typically requires 31–70 gallons per minute per turbine. At least one TM2500 turbine is reported to be running 24 hours per day, with the remaining units operating for a significant portion of each day. Even at the lowest usage estimate, a single turbine running continuously would require over 1.3 million gallons per month, which is more than 13 times the reported water usage for the entire site.

There is no clear explanation of where the facility is sourcing the rest of its water. MDEQ records show that the last on-site well permit expired in 2011, and no new well permits have been filed as of this petition. Additionally, there is no well and no active well permit listed for the Tulane Road site on the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) website. MLGW has confirmed it will not supply water for the Colossus 2 data center, which the Stanton Road power plant is intended to support. In a direct email response to a concerned resident, Mayor Musselwhite acknowledged that the initial water supply for the site is coming from Southaven city water lines and the Memphis Sand Aquifer, stating: “The initial supply to begin the recycling system will come from Southaven water lines and the same natural aquifer where all of our water comes from.” He also claimed that engineers had verified this would have “zero impact” on natural water sources, despite offering no permits, no documentation, and no timeline for the proposed recycling system.

This vague assurance closely mirrors prior claims made about Colossus 1 in Memphis, where a water recycling facility was also promised. That site is reportedly consuming at least 1.3 million gallons of water per day, with a projected scale increase to 5.7 million gallons per day, and its long-promised water recycling facility is still not expected to be operational until more than two years after launch.

In addition, credible reports indicate that at least one waterline break has occurred at the Stanton Road site since operations began. Yet none were included in the City of Southaven’s response to a formal public records request seeking all water-related records since May 2025, including service records. Only two monthly water bills were provided.

This combination of undisclosed sourcing, missing permits, incomplete records, and vague public statements raises serious concerns about aquifer strain, infrastructure risk, and long-term sustainability. Without transparency or consistent oversight, residents have no way to verify whether the facility’s water usage is safe, legal, or environmentally responsible. We have zero assurance that our drinking water remains protected.

In addition, there appears to be no independent monitoring of groundwater vulnerability at the Southaven site. In Memphis, local organizations have mapped out recharge zones and actively monitor for aquifer breaches. We’ve seen no evidence of similar safeguards here: no public studies, no tracking of potential contamination, and no transparency about the impact of this scale of industrial activity on our shared drinking water. The absence of oversight is unacceptable, especially given the known vulnerability of the Memphis Sand Aquifer. Our communities should not be left unprotected while industrial operations expand unchecked above one of the region’s most vital water sources.

The Mayor has also claimed xAI has "agreements and continued planning with Entergy" yet no utility agreements, infrastructure assessments, or capacity plans have been made public. In recent weeks, Southaven has experienced multiple unexplained power outages, including one that disrupted service to more than 2,700 Entergy customers in Southaven and Horn Lake, one that affected Baptist Memorial Hospital DeSoto, and others that impacted schools including Southaven High and Southaven Intermediate. These outages occurred without severe weather, and neither Entergy nor the city has provided a public explanation or addressed any potential link xAI. Residents who contacted Entergy directly have been told there was "no reason listed" for the outages, and in some cases, that no outage was listed at all.

On top of these issues, a 42-inch gas pipeline has reportedly been installed by MZX Tech to support Colossus 2, routed directly through Southaven. This project has not been publicly announced, and no emergency response plan has been shared. A pipeline of this size introduces serious risk of explosion, malfunction, or sabotage, especially when paired with other hazards near the site. The Southaven xAI facility is bordered by active freight rail lines on one side and the Southaven live-fire police shooting range on the other. Yet no emergency plan, hazard analysis, or public safety documentation has been released.

No decommissioning plan has been made public either, raising questions about long-term abandonment, cleanup responsibility, and who bears the financial burden if the site is left behind in the future.

This is not responsible development. This is systemic failure.

We, the undersigned, call on the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and the City of Southaven to immediately halt all operations at the xAI/MZX Tech power plant and take full responsibility for allowing this facility to proceed without public notice, transparency, or meaningful safeguards.

We further demand that no operations resume until independent, third-party health and environmental impact studies are completed and publicly reviewed, with full community input and oversight.

Our health, our safety, and our future are not negotiable. Our communities deserve better than this.

Note: This petition was updated on December 16, 2025 to reflect additional information about water use and infrastructure concerns.