Judge dismisses environmental lawsuit against FAA over failed SpaceX launch

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McALLEN — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit this week claiming that the Federal Aviation Administration did not properly assess the environmental impacts of the SpaceX rocket launch program in South Texas.

The claims were brought by environmental groups including the Center for Biological Diversity, American Bird Conservancy and the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas. The lawsuit accused the FAA of not conducting a thorough environmental impact assessment before authorizing a test launch that took place at the small coastal community of Boca Chica, now the location of the city of Starbase, in April 2023. The launch ended in the explosion of SpaceX's 400-foot tall Starship shortly after takeoff, causing debris to rain over nearby animal habitats.

“This is a disappointing decision for the wildlife of Boca Chica who have been devastated by SpaceX’s activities and the FAA’s failure to protect them,” said Jared Margolis, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Exploding rockets will keep raining down on the imperiled wildlife and the places they live as long as the government keeps giving SpaceX a blank check to trash this irreplaceable corner of Texas.”

The groups argued that the rocket launches also cause intense heat, noise, light and debris that negatively affects nearby animal habitats, such as the Boca Chica Wildlife Refuge and Boca Chica State Park.

In the lawsuit, filed in Washington, D.C. in May 2023, the plaintiffs argued the FAA should have conducted an environmental impact statement for the launch program but instead allowed SpaceX to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA).

That assessment found that the program would have significant impacts on the environment but included mitigation efforts. The FAA reviewed the assessment and approved SpaceX's license for launches.

The plaintiffs wanted the judge to find the PEA violated federal regulations and to vacate the FAA's approval of SpaceX's license to operate the Starship vehicle

But in an opinion issued on Monday, a judge found no evidence that the FAA failed to conduct an independent evaluation of SpaceX's PEA or that the agency merely accepted SpaceX's assertions as true.

"Most of the (assessment's) conclusions were well-reasoned and supported by the record," U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols stated.

Citing a recent Supreme Court ruling, the judge further deferred to the FAA and noted that courts are cautioned against micromanaging federal agencies so long as their choices fall within a broad zone of reasonableness.

"While parts of its analysis left something to be desired, even those parts fell 'within a broad zone of reasonableness,'" the judge said.

Reporting in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by the Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.

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