In South Texas, SpaceX faces skepticism over environmental damage

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

But that hasn’t happened on this small stretch of sand near the Texas-Mexico border since SpaceX started launching rockets here.

On this Saturday in August, about a dozen people came here to celebrate what this beach means to them and to raise awareness about the harm the new space industry is doing to the environment.

As people approached the water’s edge and jumped into the waves, they were greeted by a fluttering fabric art installation, meant to evoke memories of families who spent time here decades ago.

For a few hours, beachgoers relaxed under tents, dined on quesadillas, oysters and a variety of casseroles, and admired the dramatic changes that had taken place on the beach in less than a decade.

Behind them loomed the SpaceX rocket launch platform.

The beach was once considered a local secret but is now at the centre of a battle between locals who want to preserve it in its original form and those who see it as a place for innovation.

Members of ENTRE Film Center, a local film center and community archive, hosted a rally in Boca Chica to celebrate the beach and inspire people to fight for the protection of the beach, which has been under threat since the arrival of Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

“This is the people’s beach, our beach,” said Nanci Guevara, the visual artist who created the art installation. “We’re going to fight to protect this beach.”

ENTRE is one of a coalition of groups in the Rio Grande Valley that has scrutinized SpaceX’s activities at Starbase, its Boca Chica headquarters, and resisted for years attempts by the company to expand there.

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

Concerned groups continue to protest against the company and government agencies, concerned about the impact on the environment and increasing closures of beaches to the public.

The Federal Aviation Administration was scheduled to hold a public hearing in August on SpaceX’s proposal to launch 25 Starship/Super Heavy rockets per year from Boca Chica, but the coalition has called on the agency to reopen the process for public participation.

In a letter to the FAA, they called for a full environmental impact statement in both English and Spanish that takes into account all of SpaceX’s potential negative effects, and for more time for the public to review the report.

“SpaceX’s issues are constantly changing and regulators are granting approvals while the process is broken,” said Beca Hinojosa, co-founder of the South Texas Environmental Justice Network.

A SpaceX spokesman declined to be interviewed for this story.

An FAA spokesperson said the agency ultimately postponed the hearing and was unable to verify the accuracy of SpaceX’s license application and draft environmental assessment after the agency learned of allegations, first reported by CNBC, that SpaceX had violated the Clean Water Act at Boca Chica Launch Site.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality also confirmed that it found SpaceX in violation of its rules. The state has reached an agreement with SpaceX to address the issue. The formal agreement is pending approval by the commission or its executive director.

SpaceX responded to the allegations in a post on its website, stating that while it previously operated under a Texas Multi-Sector General Permit, which regulates industrial stormwater discharges, it is working with the Environmental Commission to obtain an individual permit for its water deluge system. The company also noted that both the TCEQ and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have given it permission to continue operating.

The CNBC report also raised concerns about traces of mercury in non-storm water runoff, but SpaceX said there was a typographical error in its permit application and assured that mercury levels were well below state and federal water quality standards.

Christopher Basaldu, a member of the Carrizo/Comecrudo tribe, doesn’t take SpaceX’s word for it and believes the environmental damage to the area is undeniable. The tribe considers Boca Chica sacred land, and is currently suing the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for agreeing to the land swap with SpaceX.

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

“SpaceX has always caused pollution,” Basaldu said, “and I think people have been brainwashed that building rockets, testing rockets, and exploding rockets somehow doesn’t cause pollution.”

He added that if SpaceX receives FAA approval for 25 rocket launches per year, State Highway 4, the only road into Boca Chica, would likely be closed more frequently, limiting access for residents.

“If you’re doing 25 launches a year, that’s basically every other week, so it looks like you’re going to be closing Highway 4 down for half the year,” he said.

In addition to limiting beach access, the SpaceX launch has also brought another change to the area: the emergence of Musk and SpaceX enthusiasts who congregate along the road adjacent to the launch site.

That same Saturday, a brown pickup truck with “Basecamp Zero” painted in large letters on its side was parked across from the launch pad. A large tent covered the truck, and Calvin Wale was heating up food on a hot plate.

Wales, a Galveston resident, visits Boca Chica several times a year, sometimes camping out for weeks at a time for a front-row seat to a rocket launch.

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

“I saw this coming and I made the mistake of fighting against it,” Wehrle said, “and a lot of these developments are no-win.”

But Basaldu, who wants only to see a complete dismantling of SpaceX’s operations in Boca Chica and the restoration of wildlife habitat, believes a complete reversal of what SpaceX has done can be achieved.

“Stop it, dismantle it,” Basaldu said. “Human hands made it, they built it. Human hands can also destroy it.”

Coverage in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas.

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