SpaceX responds to CNBC’s explosive story that claims it’s polluting water systems

CNBC published report August 12, which found that Elon Musk’s SpaceX knowingly violated environmental laws by releasing pollutants into nearby bodies of water in Texas.

The report claims that the Elon Musk-led company violated wastewater regulations at its Starbase launch site in Boca Chica, Texas. The report cites investigative records along with notices from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Texas Environmental Quality Commission (TQEC). CNBC writes that SpaceX quickly rebuilt its damaged launch pad after Starship’s first test flightcausing some damage to the environment, vehiclesand the mentioned launch platform.

To prevent such catastrophic damage, SpaceX rebuilt the launch pad with a new flood system that can muffle sound, heat, and reduce the energy generated during launch. The report claims that SpaceX skipped getting a permit before attempting another launch. Specifically, the EPA opened an investigation into the wastewater from the new system after SpaceX’s full-scale pressure test in July 2023. Here’s the gist of the allegations.

CNBC says the EPA notified SpaceX on March 13, 2024, that it had violated the federal Clean Water Act, but SpaceX went ahead with its scheduled third Starship test flight on March 14. SpaceX is also accused of applying for a permit more than 100 days after receiving notice from the EPA. The TCEQ opened an investigation on July 25, 2024, and determined that SpaceX had discharged wastewater without a permit four times since March, according to the CNBC report.

The Environmental Protection Agency and TCEQ have not responded to the latest report, but SpaceX posted a statement on its X account saying the CNBC story is “inconsistent with the facts“and that its flood system provides clean, drinkable water to the launch pad. In addition, SpaceX stated that it cooperated with the TCEQ during construction of the flood system and that the TCEQ website states that SpaceX is covered by “Texas Multi-Sector General Permit.“

SpaceX commented on the EPA notice, stating that it was issued “without understanding the basic facts about how the flood system works and without recognizing that we are operating under a Texas general multi-sector permit.“Moreover, SpaceX said it had explained the situation to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Agency”changed their position and allowed us to continue our operations.“

The Elon Musk-led company then listed how the flooding system fits into compliance with rocket launch regulations and rules, discussing aspects such as the fact that the vast majority of water is vaporized by the rocket engines, as well as the fact that processes have been implemented to test the quality of the soil, air and water around the launch site.

“We send soil, air and water samples around the platform to an independent, accredited laboratory after each flood system use, which consistently show little evidence of any contamination. Importantly, while the CNBC article claims there are“very large exceedances of mercury standards”In wastewater discharged to this site, all samples to date have shown no detectable levels of mercury, or in very few cases have shown levels well below the EPA drinking water limit,“SpaceX wrote