A report released by the Federal Aviation Administration said there would be no significant environmental impact to the area if SpaceX’s proposal to increase their Starship launches from Boca Chica is approved. 

In 2024, SpaceX announced plans to increase their yearly launches from the Boca Chica facility to up to 25 per year.

On Tuesday, the FAA issued its final environmental assessment to analyze the proposal.

“The FAA has determined that no significant impacts would occur as a result of the proposed action,” the FAA said in a mitigated finding.

As the co-founder of the South Texas Environmental Justice Network, Rebekah Hinojosa is currently in Austin fighting against SpaceX bills that would give the city of Starbase control over Boca Chica Beach. 

“It's not surprising that we're receiving this upsetting news. Elon musk and his SpaceX staff have gutted the Federal Aviation Administration,” Hinojosa said.

Hinojosa said she disagrees with the FAA’s findings that there won’t be any significant impact to the environment with increased launches requested by SpaceX

“That would mean more seismic activity in the Valley, our homes shaking,” Hinojosa said. “It would mean more illegal dumping on Boca Chica Beach, it would definitely continue to destroy the wildlife habitat in the area."

In an executive summary of the environmental assessment, the FAA said that they found that the additional launches are not expected to result in significant climate related impacts.

According to an executive summary of the environmental assessment, air quality, noise and hazardous materials were among the categories the FAA considered before issuing its findings.

The FAA also said that SpaceX would need to take measures to minimize environmental impact to the area.

While some are concerned about the environment, others support what this could mean to the economy.

As the CEO of the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation, Gilberto Salinas said SpaceX had a $6.5 billion dollar economic output for the entire Rio Grande Valley in 2024.

Salinas said there was also $100 million in tourism seen during Starship’s 2024 launches.

With the possibility of more launches, Salinas said those figures are expected to increase. 

“No other company can get close to what they're doing at the rate that they're doing it,” Salinas said. 

The executive summary from the FAA noted that the license approval process is not over yet.

“The completion of the environmental review process does not guarantee that the FAA will issue a license modification to SpaceX for the proposed action,” the FAA said in the summary. “SpaceX’s license application must also meet FAA safety, risk and financial responsibility requirements.”

Channel 5 News reached out to the FAA. A spokesperson said there are other licensing requirements that will still need to be completed — including reviews on policy, payload, safety and financial responsibility — before a decision is made on the license application. 

“The FAA has issued its Final Environmental Assessment analyzing SpaceX’s proposal to increase Starship/Super Heavy orbital launches from five up to 25 per year at Boca Chica, Texas,” the FAA said in a statement to Channel 5 News. “Additional landings at the site by the Starship vehicle and the Super Heavy booster rocket were also analyzed, as well as various vehicle upgrades."

"All licensing requirements must be met in order for the FAA to grant SpaceX the proposed license modification,” the FAA added.

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