Environmental groups sue FAA over SpaceX damage to Boca Chica

In response to the massive explosion of Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket at Boca Chica in South Texas, the Center for Biological Diversity, the American Bird Conservancy, the Surfrider Foundation, Save RGV and the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas Inc. sued the Federal Aviation Administration on Monday for failing to fully analyze and mitigate the environmental harms resulting from the launch program.

The plaintiffs note that the launch site for the SpaceX Starship/Super Heavy rocket sits next to prime habitat for protected species and migratory birds, like the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle and the piping plover. Debris from the explosion included a large amount of sand as well as ashlike particulate matter and heavier debris. Those emissions spread over a far greater area than expected.

Following the explosion, the FAA said it was pausing the SpaceX launch program in order to do a “mishap investigation.”

Noting that the Boca Chica area is “one of the most biologically diverse regions in North America,” the lawsuit says that bird species from both the Central and Mississippi flyways converge there, “making it an essential wintering and stopover habitat for migratory birds as they move north and south each year.” Environmentalists note that “shorebirds are showing the most dramatic population declines out of any group of birds. It is also one of the few places where the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle – the most critically endangered sea turtle in the world – comes ashore to nest on refuge beaches in the spring and summer.”

Juan Mancias, tribal chair of the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas, said in a news release that “the administration’s failure to fully analyze the dangers of a rocket test launch and manufacturing facility mere steps from the Lower Rio Grande National Wildlife Refuge and two state parks is an astonishingly bad decision.” In addition, Mary Angela Branch, a board member of Save RGV, said that “many threatened and endangered species are counting on the agency to get this right.”

The suit was filed in federal district court in Washington, D.C. The plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that the FAA’s permission to go forward with the program violated federal regulations and must be voided, and that SpaceX be required to go through the normal process under the National Environmental Policy Act.

Jared Margolis, attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, told the Austin Monitor that it’s possible the FAA may decide to require appropriate studies of the site and potential damage. If that happens, he said, the plaintiffs will not need to continue their lawsuit.

A report by Reuters noted that Musk, the founder and CEO of SpaceX, addressed the environmental criticism over the weekend, categorizing the debris as a “human-made sandstorm.”

“It’s not toxic at all or anything,” he said. “It did scatter a lot of dust, but to the best of our knowledge, there has not been any meaningful damage to the environment that we’re aware of.”

Photo made available through a Creative Commons license.

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