FOR PLANNING PURPOSES: October 15, 2024
Contact: Bekah Hinojosa at bekah@sotxejn.org or 956-975-6634
***MEDIA ADVISORY***
South TX Environmental Justice Network and residents will gather outside TCEQ public meeting to oppose SpaceX
BROWNSVILLE, TX — On Thursday, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is hosting a public meeting about SpaceX’s proposal to discharge polluted water on Boca Chica Beach, which would be destructive to ecosystems and lands that are sacred to the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe. Members of the South TX Environmental Justice Network (SOTXEJN) and concerned residents will gather with Fuera SpaceX signs and handout information outside the TCEQ public meeting on Thursday, October 17, in Brownsville. Community members were distraught by the negative impacts of the recent SpaceX launch on Sunday and showed frustration with lack of concern for public safety and health. They raised concerns about the exclusion of the community from the TCEQ’s review process of SpaceX’s proposal, such as the insufficient Spanish translation and the comment period being too short notice given that the EPA released new information about SpaceX water contamination. Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, on behalf of SOTXEJN, sent a letter to the TCEQ, urging them to rectify the process.
When: Thursday, October 17, tabling before the public meeting from 6:00 – 7:00 PM, and the public meeting begins at 7:00 PM
Where: Thursday, October 17, outside the Brownsville Sports Park Gymnasium (1000 Sports Park Boulevard, Brownsville, TX)
Who: Available to Speak:
Christopher Basaldú, Ph.D., South Texas Environmental Justice Network
Josette Hinojosa, South Texas Environmental Justice Network
Background: Residents and organizations from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas have spoken up about the environmental harms of SpaceX operations in their community. Cameron County has routinely closed beach access for the benefit of SpaceX and to the detriment of the County’s residents, including long-time fisherman families and Indigenous communities for whom the beach is culturally sacred. SpaceX’s activities have scorched the wildlife refuge and threatened the health and safety of the community with explosions. Entrusting SpaceX with our precious coastal areas is a mistake, as shown by the destruction that follows each of their experiments.
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