Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been accused of repeatedly discharging pollutants into or near Texas waters, according to a notice of violation from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
The notice, issued last week, focuses on the water discharge system at SpaceX’s Starbase launch facility in Boca Chica, Texas, as reported by CNBC. It comes five months after the EPA’s Region 6 office notified SpaceX that it was violating the Clean Water Act for similar activities.
TCEQ said its office in Harlingen, near SpaceX Starbase, has received a total of 14 complaints alleging environmental impacts from the facility’s wastewater system. The first complaint, received on Aug. 6, 2023, alleged that SpaceX was “discharging wastewater without a TCEQ permit.”
TCEQ environmental investigators conducted an examination of compliance records on July 25, 2024, and found that SpaceX discharged industrial wastewater without a permit on four occasions between March and July of this year.
SpaceX is developing the Starship, a spacecraft to transport people and equipment to even more distant destinations, such as low Earth orbit, the Moon, and even Mars. However, during Starship’s first test flight in April 2023, the rocket blew up the concrete launch pad, and the spacecraft also exploded in mid-air. In response, SpaceX hastily rebuilt the launch pad and installed a new water-spraying system without going through the proper permitting process.
The company will conduct the first full-pressure test of the water release system in July 2023. Despite receiving a formal notice of violation from the EPA on March 13, SpaceX proceeded with Starship’s third test flight using the unauthorized water release system on March 14.
Continuing to operate Starbase after receiving the notice would expose the company to greater legal risk, including further investigation and possible criminal charges, environmental engineer Eric Roesch said.
Coastal ecologist Kenneth Teague, who reviewed SpaceX’s permit application, expressed concern about the mercury concentrations in wastewater from the discharge system, saying the levels disclosed in the document “significantly exceed mercury water quality standards” and could have significant adverse effects on local ecosystems.
For more details, see CNBC.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering free speech and online censorship.
