Link to FAA notice: https://www.faa.gov/space/stakeholder_engagement/spacex_starship
South Texas Environmental Justice Network will have a table with information and fact sheets outside the Federal Aviation Administration’s public meetings this Tuesday, Jan 7 at Texas Southmost College. The public meetings are an opportunity for the community to learn more about SpaceX’s proposal to launch the rocket 25 times per year, ask questions, and make a public comment on the record with concerns/opposition to SpaceX. The FAA has canceled the meetings that were scheduled for Jan 9 in Port Isabel. There is a virtual public meeting on January 13 from 5:30 – 7:30 PM. Click this link to register to attend the virtual meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6f5su5mtTne_vBr8MqJOLA
f you can’t attend meetings, you may submit an online comment. The deadline to submit an online comment is January 17, 2025. South Texas EJ Network has a fact sheet in English/Spanish with more information about the risks & harms of SpaceX operations on Boca Chica Beach: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSdtoUp3KLslNdQSt7-LpTeQxeUkNURNVjGh1jfFNnjGhYIQack9ayL0AHhNflYJqzNMYjM8wM3Q0hw/pub
How to submit an online comment:
- Go to http://www.regulations.gov
- Search for docket no. FAA-2024-2006
- Click on the “Comment” button, enter your information and comment, then click “Submit comment”
How to mail a comment:
Address the letter to:
MS. Amy Hanson, FAA Environmental Specialist, SpaceX EA
c/o ICF
1902 Reston Metro Plaza
Reston, VA 20190
Here’s a draft comment you can copy and submit to the FAA:
To the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA):
Comment SpaceX Starship/Super Heavy Vehicle Increased Cadence at the Launch Site in Cameron County, Texas (docket number: FAA-2024-2006)
I reside in (city, state). I am directly impacted by SpaceX’s construction and operations on Boca Chica Beach because (list impacts such as they have burned down the wildlife refuge that I visit, closed the beach that my family visits, and caused earthquakes that shake my home, and anything else) from the last six rocket launches and testing. SpaceX has already burned down more than 60 acres of wildlife refuge, violated the Open Beaches Act by closing the HWY to Boca Chica Beach, caused earthquakes in Cameron County, and is causing rental prices to increase for low-income communities and more. I am concerned that the size and scale of the negative impacts of SpaceX will only increase if the FAA grants them the approval to launch up to 25 times per year.
I demand that the FAA conduct a full environmental impact statement of all the destruction that SpaceX is causing because the shortened environmental assessment that the FAA has drafted is missing critical analysis, such as negative impacts on the local economy, housing, and wildlife. I request that the FAA host new public meetings for the Cameron County community because they canceled the meeting at the last minute for the directly impacted Port Isabel residents, and the Brownsville meeting failed to have the presentation slides projected in Spanish in a community that is 90% Latine and primarily bilingual. Additionally, I request that the FAA and SpaceX consult with the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas; the original Native people of the region who have lost access to Boca Chica Beach because of SpaceX.
SpaceX has caused extreme environmental destruction to the Cameron County community. For the reasons I mentioned above and many others, I request that the FAA reject SpaceX’s proposal to launch more.
Sincerely,
Name, City, Email
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