CNBC published a report on August 12, alleging that Elon Musk’s SpaceX knowingly violated environmental regulations by releasing pollutants into nearby waterways in Texas.
The report claims that the company, led by Elon Musk, violated wastewater regulations at its Starbase launch site in Boca Chica, Texas. The report cites investigative documents as well as notices from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TQEC). CNBC writes that SpaceX moved quickly to clean up its destroyed launch pad after the first test flight of Starshipwhat some Damage to the environment, vehiclesand the relevant launchpad.
To prevent such catastrophic damage, SpaceX rebuilt the launch pad with a new flooding system capable of dampening sound and reducing the heat and energy generated during a launch. The report claims that SpaceX failed to obtain a permit before proceeding with its next launch. More specifically, after SpaceX’s full pressure test in July 2023, the EPA launched an investigation into the wastewater from the new system. Here comes the crux of the allegations.
CNBC claims that the Environmental Protection Agency notified SpaceX on March 13, 2024, that it was violating the federal Clean Water Act, but SpaceX conducted its scheduled third test flight of Starship on March 14. Additionally, SpaceX is accused of applying for a permit more than 100 days after receiving notification from the EPA. On July 25, 2024, the TCEQ launched an investigation and found that SpaceX had discharged wastewater without a permit four times since March, according to the CNBC report.
The EPA and TCEQ have not responded to the latest report, but SpaceX has claimed on its X account that the CNBC story was “factually incorrect” and that its flooding system brings clean, drinkable water to the launch pad. In addition, SpaceX stated that it has worked with the TCEQ throughout the construction of the flooding system, and the TCEQ website states that SpaceX is “General permit for multiple sectors in Texas.“
SpaceX commented on the EPA notice, saying the notice had been issued:without understanding the basic facts of how the flood system works or knowing that we were working under the Texas General Multisector Permit.“SpaceX also explained the situation to the EPA and the agency.”revised its position and allowed us to continue our operations.“
The Elon Musk-led company then outlined how the flooding system complies with rocket launch regulations and rules, highlighting aspects such as the fact that most of the water is vaporized by the rocket’s engines and that processes are in place to test soil, air and water quality around the launch site.
“We send soil, air and water samples from around the pad to an independent, accredited laboratory after each deployment of the flooding system, and these have consistently found negligible traces of contaminants. Importantly, while the CNBC report claims there are“very large exceedances of the mercury limit”To date, all samples of wastewater discharged from the site have either been found to contain no mercury at all or, in very few cases, levels well below the limit set by the EPA for drinking water.” wrote SpaceX
