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TThe latest move by critics of SpaceX’s discharge of what they call “untreated industrial wastewater” at Boca Chica/Starbase is to request a hearing in a contested case with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality over the TCEQ’s decision to grant the company the Texas Pollutant Removal System. permit (TPDES).
The request was filed by the South Texas Environmental Justice Network, or STEJN, represented by Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, which filed the request on Dec. 26. STEJN argued that the permit allows discharges that threaten water quality into a fragile ecosystem “that serves as critical habitat for many species and is one of the last remaining pristine coastal green spaces in Texas.”
The water in question comes from the water flooding system at the Boca Chica launch site, which is designed to dampen the effects of a rocket engine explosion during liftoff and engine static fire tests.
The purpose of the required hearing is to ensure that the permit complies with federal and state law and that the best available science is used in deciding whether to issue a permit.
STEJN said the issuance of a TPDES permit typically follows a rigorous, often months-long process to ensure that people and wildlife dependent on the water source in question are not adversely affected, and that a TPDES permit “typically limits the volume of effluent and the concentration of specific pollutants, which can be released into the water.”
“Despite these requirements, TCEQ granted SpaceX a permit in less than two months,” the group said. “The TCEQ also failed to implement significant restrictions or limitations on SpaceX’s wastewater discharges. This deficiency relates to the heavy metals and toxins in the SpaceX launch, allowing for unlimited water pollution.
Paola Camacho, a TRLA attorney representing STEJN, said the TCEQ’s permitting fits into a “pattern of unwavering favoritism toward SpaceX.”
“TCEQ ignored the requirements of state and federal law, dismissed the concerns of hundreds of members of the public, and inadvertently sent a message to all Texans: Pollution for profit is more important than protecting people and the environment,” he said.
Once a TPDES permit is granted, those at risk of adverse impacts may challenge it in a contested case hearing.
In October, environmental group Save RGV filed a Clean Water Act (CWA) lawsuit in the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Brownsville Division, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, civil penalties and “other appropriate relief.” ” to stop SpaceX’s “repeated, unauthorized discharge of untreated industrial wastewater from the SpaceX Boca Chica launch pad flood system into waters of the United States”. states,” according to the lawsuit.