BROWNSVILLE, Texas — Elon Musk’s SpaceX is facing a lawsuit from a Brownsville-based environmental group for contaminating local water.
SaveRGV alleges in its lawsuit that SpaceX used its deluge system to pollute the surrounding wetlands near Boca Chica Beach, where the company’s Starbase launch site is located, at least 13 times, violating the Clean Water Act. claims to have done so.
SpaceX says its deluge system will release water during launch to cool the area and prevent an explosion, but Saber RGV says the high heat will cause debris from metals such as aluminum, arsenic, zinc and mercury to flood the area. It is said that it pollutes.
SaveRGV is asking a judge to prohibit SpaceX from using the deluge system until it obtains a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit under the Clean Water Act. The group is also seeking fines of up to $56,460 per day for each violation.
In a post on social media platform X, which is also owned by Musk, SpaceX said the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) determined the deluge system did not pose a risk to the environment.
“We have express permission from TCEQ to implement the system under the terms of the Consent Decree and Notice of Termination on Administrative Order from EPA,” the statement said.
The company called Save RGV’s lawsuit “unfair and frivolous.”
In August, SpaceX disputed a TCEQ report that said the company polluted waters off South Texas on four separate occasions.
SpaceX’s recent rapid development in the Rio Grande Valley city has been controversial among residents, with some welcoming the change and others feeling ignored and unheard by local politicians who tolerate it. Some people feel that way.
The city of Brownsville issued a PSA to residents Thursday about a possible SpaceX launch between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. Sunday, but the company has not yet received a license from the Federal Aviation Administration to allow the launch. . The city is asking residents to register for emergency alerts that will notify them of the firing situation.
In July, Musk moved Starbase’s headquarters to California after California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill banning schools from disclosing students’ gender identities or sexual orientation without their permission. announced plans to move out of state to Brownsville.
