What's New
Community organizations are suing Texas alleging wastewater from SpaceX launchpads is washing into nearby wetlands.
Activists behind the suit against the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) say that the wastewater contains metal and polluting chemicals used at the south Texas launch site.
Space X, which is owned by Elon Musk, has released a statement saying that the wastewater is "literal drinking water" used for its "flame deflector." The use of water as a flame deflector cools down launch sites after rockets are blasted into space.
Newsweek sought email comment from the TCEQ and Space X on Thursday.
Why It Matters
Musk, who also owns the Tesla electric car company, is a close ally of president-elect Donald Trump and, when Trump comes to power in January, Musk will become co-director of a new federal advisory entity, the Department of Government Efficiency.
Environmental groups say that Space X has been dumping hundreds of thousands of gallons of water into environmentally sensitive wetlands without intervention from the Texas government.
What To Know
The case is being taken by the South Texas Environmental Justice Network and the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas against TCEQ for its decision to temporarily allow SpaceX to discharge allegedly polluted water into Boca Chica wetlands.
In a statement on December 18, the South Texas Environmental Justice Network claimed the TCEQ has "sidestepped permitting procedures in favor of SpaceX's industrial discharge, setting a bad precedent."
In its statement, South Texas Environmental Justice Network said its mission is to support "the leadership of front line BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities. It includes numerous organizations, campaigns, individuals, and the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribal leadership from the South Texas region that challenge the status quo and corporate power to build a future aligned in values, principles, and praxis that centers on the social and environmental health of local Native and BIPOC communities."
"By bypassing these requirements, the Commission has put the Boca Chica environment at risk of degradation," Lauren Ice, the plaintiffs' attorney said in a statement.
The lawsuit was filed in the District Court of Travis County, Texas on Monday, December 16.
In September, SpaceX said in a written statement that it uses "literal drinking water" for its launchpad.
It also said that testing after water is splashed on the launch site found "negligible traces of any contaminants."
It agreed that it had already paid a small fine but that was because its wastewater permit was for flood water rather than industrial waste, and that permit designation has since been changed.
What People Are Saying
Space X said: "Paying fines is extremely disappointing when we fundamentally disagree with the allegations and we are supported by the fact that EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] has agreed that nothing about the operation of our flame deflector will need to change. Only the name of the permit has changed."
The TCEQ said in a statement that it does not comment on pending litigation. Its preliminary decision for Space X's industrial wastewater permit found "no significant degradation of water quality is expected in tidal wetlands."
Author Robert Zimmerman, who wrote a book about NASA's Apollo 8 mission, accused the South Texas Environmental Justice Network of being a leftist activist group that was only interested in attacking Elon Musk. "The blind opposition of these leftist activists to Musk and anything he does has merely caused them to cut off their nose to spite their face," he wrote on his website in November.
Newsweek sought email comment from the South Texas Environmental Justice Network on Thursday.
Newsweek sought email comment from the South Texas Environmental Justice Network on Thursday.
What Happens Next
The Texas government has yet to file a response to the lawsuit. It will likely seek a summary judgment in its favor. If that is not granted, pretrial motions are likely to begin.
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