SpaceX faces concerns about environmental damage in South Texas

BOCA CHICA — It wasn’t just a day at the beach.

But it’s never been on this little strip of sand near the Texas-Mexico border, not since SpaceX started launching rockets here.

On this Saturday in August, about a dozen people traveled here to celebrate what the beach has meant to them and to raise awareness about the damage they see the new space industry doing to the environment.

A fabric art installation fluttering in the wind greeted the crowd as it approached the water and splashed in the waves. It was meant to evoke memories of families spending time here in past decades.

For several hours, beachgoers were treated to quesadillas, oysters and a variety of casseroles as they rested under tents, taking in the beach’s drastic changes in less than a decade.

A SpaceX rocket launch pad rose behind them.

The beach was once considered a local secret, but is now at the center of a battle between locals who want to keep it as it once was and those who see it as a place for innovation.

Members of the ENTRE Film Center, a local film center and regional archive, hosted the meeting in Boca Chica to celebrate the beach and motivate people to fight for its preservation, which they consider to be in danger since the arrival of Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

“This is the people’s beach, this is our beach,” said Nansi Guevara, a visual artist who created the art installation. “And we will fight to protect it.”

ENTRE is part of a coalition of Rio Grande Valley groups that have scrutinized the work at Starbase, SpaceX’s headquarters in Boca Chica, and spent years pushing back against the company’s attempts to expand operations there.

This summer, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality noted environmental concerns about SpaceX’s proposal to increase the number of launches per year here.

Concerned groups continue to challenge the company and government agencies over concerns about environmental impact and the growing denial of beach access to the public.

The Federal Aviation Administration was scheduled to hold public hearings in August on SpaceX’s proposal to launch the Starship/Super Heavy rocket 25 times a year from Boca Chica. However, the coalition asked the agency to resume the public participation process.

In a letter to the FAA, they requested a full environmental impact statement, in English and Spanish, that would consider all of SpaceX’s potential adverse effects. They also called for more time for the public to review the reports.

“SpaceX is an ever-changing issue, which is getting permits stamped by regulatory agencies that have really broken the processes,” said Bekah Hinojosa, co-founder of the South Texas Environmental Justice Network.

A SpaceX spokesman declined an interview for this story.

Ultimately, the FAA postponed the public hearings after the agency became aware of allegations first reported by CNBC that SpaceX violated the Clean Water Act at the Boca Chica launch site and could not confirm the accuracy of SpaceX’s license application and its environmental assessment project. according to an agency spokesman.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality also confirmed that it has cited SpaceX for violating regulations. The state reached an agreement with SpaceX to resolve the issue. The formal agreement is pending approval by the commission or its executive director.

SpaceX responded to the allegations in a post on X, saying it was working with the environmental commission to obtain an individual permit for its waterflooding system, after previously operating under a Texas multi-sector general permit that regulates discharge of rainwater used in industry. . The company also noted that both the TCEQ and the US Environmental Protection Agency have allowed their operations to continue.

The CNBC report also raised concerns about traces of mercury from the runoff into stormwater. However, SpaceX said there was a typographical error in the permit application and ensured mercury levels were well below state and federal water quality criteria.

Christopher Basaldú, a member of the Carrizo/Comecrudo tribe, does not take SpaceX at their word and believes that the environmental damage to the area is undeniable. The tribe considers Boca Chica sacred land and is currently suing the Texas Park and Wildlife Department for accepting a land swap deal with SpaceX.

As part of the deal, the Texas Park and Wildlife Commission agreed to give SpaceX 43 acres of Boca Chica State Park in exchange for 477 acres adjacent to the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge.

“SpaceX has always been a polluter,” Basaldú said. “And I think people are kind of brainwashed into thinking that rockets — building rockets and testing rockets and blowing up rockets — that somehow that doesn’t cause pollution.”

He added that if SpaceX received FAA approval to launch rockets 25 times a year, it would cause more frequent shutdowns of State Highway 4, the only road leading to Boca Chica, limiting access for residents.

“If they launch 25 times a year, that’s basically once every two weeks, so it looks like they’re going to shut down Highway 4 for half the year,” he said.

In addition to limited access to the beach due to SpaceX launches, another change to the area is the arrival of Musk and SpaceX superfans who gather along the road adjacent to the launch site.

That same Saturday, a brown pickup truck with “Base Camp Zero” written on the side was parked over the launch site. A large tent covered the truck where Calvin Wehrle heated food on a hot plate.

Wehrle, a Galveston resident, travels to Boca Chica several times a year. He camps out for weeks, hoping to get a front row seat to the rocket launches.

As a former member of the Galveston Sierra Club, Wehrle believes environmentalists are fighting a losing battle against SpaceX and advises them to work with the company to preserve what they can.

“I saw that happen and I made the mistake of fighting it,” Wehrle said. “And a lot of this development, you can’t win.”

But Basaldú, who wants nothing less than the complete dismantling of SpaceX’s operations at Boca Chica and the restoration of wildlife habitat, believes a complete reversal of what SpaceX has done can be achieved.

“Shut it down, dismantle it,” Basaldú said. “Human hands made it, built it; human hands can tear it down too.”

Reporting in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by South Texas Methodist Health Ministry, Inc.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2024/09/04/space-x-south-texas-environment/.

The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, member-supported newsroom that informs and engages Texans in state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.

Photo: Space X rocket launch pads hover over ENTRE Film Center members gathered to celebrate and preserve Boca Chica Beach near Brownsville on Aug. 31.

TOPICS
Texas Aerospace