August 5, 2024
Michael Whitaker
Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration
800 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20591
Congressman Vicente Gonzalez
Washington, D.C. 20515
RE: Request to Meet with FAA Staff to Discuss Hazardous SpaceX Proposal
The undersigned organizations are writing to urge the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to restart their public participation process and review of SpaceX’s proposal to launch the Starship/Superheavy rocket 25 times per year from Boca Chica Beach. The organizations signed onto this letter are directly impacted stakeholder groups based in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley region, where SpaceX is currently conducting its operations on Boca Chica Beach. The current review and public participation process carried out by the FAA is inadequate and hinders engagement from our community members directly impacted by SpaceX’s operations. We urgently request a meeting with FAA staff that oversee the review process and members of our coalition to discuss our concerns as soon as possible before the FAA decides on the license for SpaceX.
The FAA’s public participation process does not give enough opportunity for our low-income, marginalized, largely Spanish/English bilingual, and primarily people of color and Indigenous community to participate and give public comments on the ongoing damages by SpaceX in the Cameron County region. The Rio Grande Valley is a marginalized region that has both a minority and low-income population, identifying them as an environmental justice community. The 2019 US Census Bureau data for Brownsville shows that 29.9% of the population lives in poverty, which is higher than the 10.5% national average poverty rate; and 93.8% of the population identifies as Hispanic or Latino. Moreover, the Rio Grande Valley has a population of 1.4 million, and about 80% speak Spanish. The FAA’s public participation process is inadequate for the following reasons:
- The FAA did not publish a minimum 30-day notice in Spanish in the local newspapers about the public meetings, which has not given enough time for impacted residents to be informed and participate.
- In addition to the inadequate timeline for public comments, the FAA has failed to provide SpaceX’s proposal’s draft environmental assessment document a minimum of 30 days before the public meetings. The ten or so days for the public to review a draft environmental assessment document is insufficient time for residents to understand and make an informed comment.
- The FAA has not demonstrated that staff have met with stakeholder groups in the region that are environmental justice communities directly impacted by SpaceX’s daily operations in their review of a draft environmental assessment. For example, neither SpaceX nor the FAA have ever met with the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas, the original native Indigenous tribe of the South Texas region. Boca Chica Beach contains sites, burial grounds, and sacred lands to the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas.
We have the following requests from the FAA:
- The FAA should host a public meeting about SpaceX’s proposal in Brownsville, TX, where residents have reported earthquakes and threatened public safety because of the rocket testing. Meetings in Port Isabel and South Padre Island are more than 30 miles away from the beach and too far for Brownsville residents to participate. Our coalition requests a meeting to discuss the FAA’s public participation process in the region, which is directly impacting our community.
- The current format of the public meetings does not allow the public to learn about SpaceX operations’ concerns. We request that the FAA have an open public meeting that allows attendees to hear the public comments from their peers. The FAA’s plan to require residents to give comments one-on-one to a court reporter prevents residents from learning about the concerns and opinions of others.
- We request SpaceX officials and FAA staff be required to present the proposal and answer questions at the public meetings. FAA must translate all materials, including the draft environmental assessment, into Spanish and provide Spanish interpretation at all public meetings.
- We request that SpaceX and the FAA consult with the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas while reviewing the proposal for 25 launches.
The FAA’s draft environmental assessment (DPEA) of SpaceX’s proposal to launch 25 times per year from Boca Chica Beach is inadequate and not a thorough enough review for numerous reasons. The previous rocket launch led to the illegal destruction of protected migratory bird nests under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), as reported in the New York Times. Previous launches and testing have caused numerous acre fires over critical wildlife habitats, spread debris over hundreds of acres, and have caused earthquakes. These incidences have been reported on state and national news outlets and the launches are clearly a threat to public safety. It is more apparent than ever that the SpaceX launches have significant, unmitigated adverse environmental impacts, and there is a need for more review under NEPA. A full Environmental Impact Statement, with input from US Fish & Wildlife and all those affected by the launches, is essential before any further launches can be authorized, including the proposed increases announced by the FAA on July 12, 2024. A comprehensive EIS would include impacts from current and future SpaceX operations. The DPEA does not include an analysis of impacts from existing operations. The EIS should analyze the cumulative impacts of SpaceX operations in conjunction with the proposed LNG terminals, Jupiter oil refinery, and the oil & gas pipelines in the area. An EIS should include consultation with the Mexican government regarding the construction and operation of the SpaceX facility because the Mexican town of Matamoros is a sister community to Brownsville, Texas, and the two share an airshed.
For these reasons and many more, we request an in-person meeting with FAA staff reviewing the SpaceX proposal and our coalition during the week of public meetings in August to discuss our concerns. Please respond to the meeting request promptly.
Signed,
Bekah Hinojosa, Co-founder, South Texas Environmental Justice Network, Brownsville, TX
Patricia Rubio, Member, Another Gulf Is Possible Collaborative, Harlingen, TX
Lupita Sanchez, Border Workers United, Brownsville and El Paso, Texas.
Juan B Mancias, Tribal Chair, Carrizo/Comecrudo Traditional Tribe Texas, Brownsville, Texas
Michelle Serrano, Co-Director, Voces Unidas, Rio Grande Valley, TX
Monica Sosa, Worker + Owner, ENTRE Film Center & Regional Archive, Brownsville, Texas
Lianna Reynaga, Campus Organizer, Texas Rising RGV, Brownsville, Texas
Emma Guevara, Communications Manager, Frontera Fund, Rio Grande Valley, Texas
Lourdes Flores, Director, ARISE Adelante, Alamo, TX
Josue Ramirez, Director, Trucha, McAllen, Texas
Diana Lopez, Executive Director, Centro por la Justicia, San Antonio, Texas
Dina Nuñez, South Texas Human Rights Center, Brownsville, TX