SpaceX Polluted Texas Waters Repeatedly Per Regulators

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SpaceX, Elon Musk's space exploration company, is facing allegations from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality of violating environmental regulations at its Starbase launch facility.

The company's water deluge system was used to repeatedly release pollutants into or close to Texas water bodies, which is the subject of the violations.

A TCEQ notice claims that SpaceX released floodwater without the required permission. This notification was given to SpaceX five months after comparable Clean Water Act breaches were also reported to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Region 6 office. Records that CNBC was able to collect provided a full account of the infractions that had not before been publicized.

The TCEQ's Harlingen office received a complaint on August 6, 2023, alleging unauthorized discharges by SpaceX. The office ultimately received 14 complaints about the environmental impacts of the facility’s deluge system.

These violations could have significant implications for SpaceX's future operations, as aerospace companies need to comply with state and federal laws to gain approval from the Federal Aviation Administration for launches.

SpaceX is seeking permission for up to 25 annual launches and landings of its Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket at Boca Chica. The violation notices could delay these approvals and result in monetary penalties, further investigations, and potential criminal charges.

Following the publication of the allegations, SpaceX responded with a lengthy post on X (formerly Twitter), stating that regulators had informed them operations could continue despite the violation notices. "Throughout our ongoing coordination with both TCEQ and the EPA, we have explicitly asked if operation of the deluge system needed to stop and we were informed that operations could continue," SpaceX wrote.

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