FAA Gets Sued for SpaceX’s Environmental Damage in Florida

SpaceX's failure is the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA), it seems.

The FAA has recently become the target of a lawsuit after SpaceX's first Starship test launch rained down hazardous debris on homes and wild animals' natural habitats in Florida.

The FAA previously announced it had launched a mishap investigation on SpaceX for the same reason it's being sued for, though there is no word on an update from the government agency regarding its investigation.

FAA Lawsuit Details

Environmental groups and the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas recently filed a lawsuit against the FAA for failing to take a closer look at the environmental risks posed by SpaceX's operations in its Boca Chica launch site, as required under the National Environmental Policy Act, per The Verge.

According to the two groups' lawsuit, which they filed in the District Court for the District of Columbia, the FAA allowed SpaceX to submit a more limited Programmatic Environmental Assessment than a comprehensive one after determining that SpaceX's Starship test launches wouldn't have a significant impact on the nearby environment.

"Permitting SpaceX to launch the largest rockets known to humankind is the type of significant federal action that requires full analysis," the groups' lawsuit says.

The groups also alleged in their lawsuit that the FAA violated the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to fully assess alternative launch sites for SpaceX's Starship test launches, such as NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

According to the two groups, they're worried that the heightened risk of fires, pollution, light, and heat from SpaceX's Starship test launches will affect the surrounding environment and wildlife. As such, they want the FAA to complete its Programmatic Environmental Assessment and the restoration of access to the ancestral lands of the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas; SpaceX's Boca Chica launch site sits in the middle of their ancestral lands.

"Boca Chica is central to our creation story. But we have been cut off from the land our ancestors lived on for thousands of years due to SpaceX, which is using our ancestral lands as a sacrifice zone for its rockets," said Juan Mancias, tribal chair of the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas, in a statement.

The Effects Of SpaceX's First Starship Test Launch

SpaceX's Starship mega-rocket spewed hazardous materials from its launch site as far as roughly 6 miles from its launchpad. According to Space.com's report, dust and debris from the launch allegedly rained down on residents in Port Isabel, Texas, and across Boca Chica's beaches, which are nesting grounds for endangered animals such as birds and sea turtles.

Residents of Port Isabel also reported broken windows in their businesses and ash-like particles covering their homes and schools, which likely came from Starship's launch. Dave Cortez, a chapter director for Port Isabel's Sierra Club environmental advocacy group, added that he found concrete from Starship's shattered launchpad shot out into the ocean, creating shrapnel that risked hitting the fuel storage tanks adjacent to the launch pad.