Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been charged with repeatedly releasing pollutants into or near bodies of water in Texas, according to a notice of violation from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
CNBC reports that the notice, which was issued last week, focuses on SpaceX’s water deluge system at its Starbase launch facility in Boca Chica, Texas. This comes five months after the EPA Region 6 office had also informed SpaceX of violating the Clean Water Act with the same type of activity.
TCEQ stated that its office in Harlingen, near the SpaceX Starbase, received a total of 14 complaints alleging environmental impacts from the facility’s deluge system. The first complaint, received on August 6, 2023, alleged that SpaceX “was discharging deluge water without TCEQ authorization.”
An environmental investigator with TCEQ conducted a compliance record review on July 25, 2024, and found that SpaceX had discharged industrial wastewater without a permit four times between March and July of this year.
SpaceX is developing its Starship spacecraft to transport people and equipment to low Earth orbit, the Moon, and perhaps even further destinations like Mars. However, during the first test flight of Starship in April 2023, the rocket caused the concrete launchpad to explode, and the spacecraft also blew up in mid-air. In response, SpaceX rushed to rebuild the launchpad and installed a new water deluge system without going through the proper permitting process.
The company ran its first full-pressure test of the water deluge system in July 2023. Despite receiving a formal notice of violation from the EPA on March 13, SpaceX proceeded with its third test flight of Starship on March 14, using the unauthorized water deluge system.
Environmental engineer Eric Roesch pointed out that continuing with launch operations at Starbase after receiving the notice put the company at greater legal risk, potentially triggering more investigations and criminal charges.
Kenneth Teague, a coastal ecologist, evaluated SpaceX’s permit application and expressed concern about the concentration of mercury in the wastewater from the water deluge system. The levels disclosed in the document represent “very large exceedances of the mercury water quality criteria,” which could cause significant negative impacts on the local ecosystem.
Read more at CNBC here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
