(TNS) SpaceX wants to modify an existing permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for its Boca Chica launch facilities so it can expand those facilities, which will impact mud flats and wetlands.
USACE is soliciting public comments on the proposed modification and expansion to inform its decision making on whether to grant the company s request. The deadline to submit comments is April 20.
SpaceX requested the permit modification so it can move ahead with the expansion and addition of pads for testing, orbital launches and landing; integration towers for loading payloads into rockets; and associated infrastructure, stormwater management features and vehicle parking, according to the USACE public notice soliciting comments.
Elon Musk has raised eyebrows lately after teasing on social media the possibility that he might build his own city in South Texas near SpaceX’s Boca Chica launch site. And that site has already been the source of controversy after a SpaceX rocket exploded in March.
Local officials and activists in the Rio Grande Valley are concerned that these launches are harming the environment, and that further expansion of the company in South Texas could increase gentrification.
Gaige Davila, a writer and editor of the Port Isabel-South Padre Press, told Texas Standard that activists have been warning about the potential negative impacts of SpaceX’s presence in the area since 2014.