In follow up to Surfrider Foundation’s May 2023 lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) over SpaceX's Starship Super Heavy launch permitting, Surfrider Foundation and coalition partners filed a supplemental complaint on December 15, 2023 against the FAA and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”). The supplemental complaint alleges continued and new violations of the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”), the Administrative Procedure Act and the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). Surfrider Foundation has been concerned not only with the frequent closure of beach access to Boca Chica Beach caused by SpaceX construction and operations but also the environmental harms to critical habitat near the rocket launches.
The supplemental complaint points out that the FAA failed to properly analyze and mitigate the environmental impacts of the April 20th launch explosion before issuing a revised license for the second launch of the Starship Super Heavy rocket on November 18th of this year. The April 20th launch resulted in the ejection of concrete and metal thousands of feet into the surrounding lands. This included sensitive tidal flats and habitat for federally protected species covering an approximate 385-acre area, 3 acres of which were sensitive dune vegetation that was severely burned. The explosion left thousands of pieces of concrete in the sensitive habitat area and a plume of dust also blanketed a residential area more than six miles from the launchpad.
SpaceX’s Boca Chica launch site is surrounded by a public beach and park land, national wildlife refuge lands, and critical habitat for endangered wildlife, including ocelots, piping plovers, red knots, Gulf Coast jaguarundi, and the critically endangered Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle. Section 7 of the ESA requires that federal agencies must consult with FWS to “insure” that their actions do not jeopardize the continued existence of federally-listed endangered or threatened species, or impair the critical habitats of such species. As a result of the April 20th launch explosion, the FWS sent a letter to the FAA stating that reinitiation of their review was warranted due to the debris from the destruction of the launch pad and concerns regarding noise, temperature, and vibration levels, as well as anticipated alterations to the Boca Chica facility and launch operations (i.e., additional lighting and launch pad redesign) and cleanup methods. The letter also stated that FWS believed that reducing the number of launches may be necessary to reduce number of impacts to listed species.
While the Fish and Wildlife Service issued an addendum to their previous review on November 14, 2023, it did not discuss noise impacts nor impacts from vibrations or excessive heat, which are relevant because the noise, vibrations, and heat resulting from the April 20th launch went beyond what was previously analyzed. The FWS addendum focused almost entirely on the implementation of a new deluge water system, which was not considered in the 2022 consultation. The environmental plaintiff groups allege the government's failure to evaluate the “effects of the action,” is arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law, in violation of the ESA and the Administrative Procedure Act.
“The test launch in April resulted in a massive debris field that extended into the Gulf of Mexico, and both of the most recent test launches ended with rapid unscheduled disassembly of the launch vehicles and uncontrolled impacts. Surfrider also has ongoing concerns that operations continue to frequently shut down public access to Boca Chica Beach and the only road to it, Highway 4. This affects visitors and nearby residents, including those from Latinx, Chicanx, Indigenous, and low-income communities," stated Sarah Damron, Surfrider senior regional manager for the Southeast, Texas and Great Lakes region.
The supplemental complaint was filed in Federal District Court in Washington, D.C., by Surfrider Foundation, the Center for Biological Diversity, American Bird Conservancy, Save RGV, and the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas, Inc.