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Explaining why it postponed planned public meetings on SpaceX’s proposal to launch up to 25 times a year from Boca Chica, the Federal Aviation Administration announced on Aug. 29 that it did so after becoming aware of allegations that the company had violated the Clean Water Act at the launch site.
The FAA released a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) on the proposal on July 29, and invited the public to submit comments on the EA, with the comment period ending Aug. 29. The FAA said it became aware on Aug. 9 of the allegations against SpaceX and was “unable to confirm the accuracy of certain representations in SpaceX’s license application and the (EA) prior to the public meetings.”
The meetings were scheduled for Aug. 13, 15 and 20 in Port Isabel and South Padre Island, though the FAA said it postponed them “until these matters could be resolved.”
The agency said it will release a revised draft EA, to be accompanied by another public comment period and that new meetings will be scheduled and announced 30 days in advance. All public comments on the draft EA received between July 29 and Aug. 29 will be given equal weight and consideration as future comments on the forthcoming draft EA, the FAA said.
The Environmental Protection Agency notified SpaceX on March 13 that it had violated the Clean Water Act in deployment of its water-deluge system, designed to lessen the impact of the blast during rocket launches. The EPA did not assess a fine but did demand SpaceX comply with federal regulations.
According to the FAA, the deluge system is capable of spraying a maximum of approximately 359,000 gallons of freshwater during each launch.
On March 14, SpaceX deployed the deluge system again, despite the EPA warning, for its the third Starship orbital test flight. The company deployed the system for three such test flights, as well as testing it several times between launches, before finally applying to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for a permit on July 1.
On Aug. 12, CNBC reported that SpaceX “violated environmental regulations by repeatedly releasing pollutants into or near bodies of water,” prompting a strong response the same day from SpaceX, which posted on X (SpaceX Elon Musk’s social media platform, formerly Twitter) that the CNBC report was “factually inaccurate.”
The company said it had “diligently been working on the permit with TCEQ” and believed it had permission from the state and federal agencies to continue operating the deluge system in the meantime.
“Throughout our ongoing coordination with both TCEQ and the EPA, we have explicitly asked if operation of the deluge system needed to stop and we were informed that operations could continue,” SpaceX said in its post.
Still, shortly after the FAA’s Aug. 29 announcement, TCEQ assessed a $3,750 fine against SpaceX for illegally discharging wastewater into wetlands surrounding the launch site, after the state agency found that the company had not applied for a Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit before operating the deluge system.
On Aug. 30, Musk posted on X: “Just to be clear, this silly fine was for spilling potable drinking water! Literally, you could drink it.”
To comment on SpaceX’s pollutant discharge permit before TCEQ, go to www.tceq.texas.gov/goto/comment. The permit number is WQ0016342001.
