A judge is expected to hear a lawsuit on June 1 concerning access restrictions to a South Texas beach.
The Sierra Club, the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas and Save RGV have joined together in a lawsuit against the Texas General Land Office, Texas land commissioner George P. Bush and Cameron County in Texas. The Boca Chica beach is near the Starbase facility, where they are building rocket prototypes and their massive Super Heavy boosters.
The Sierra Club said in a statement that the restriction of access to a public beach violates the Texas constitution. None of the allegations have been proven in court, and the statement doesn't name the entities pursued in the lawsuit.
There are 8 ways that SpaceX has changed spaceflight.
The Boca Chica beach is just down the road from the Starbase facility where the company develops, builds and tests its next- generation Starship vehicle. Starbase is currently under a Federal Aviation Administration environmental review, which is related to the company's plans to launch it and a Super Heavy rocket.
The stack is intended to deliver people and cargo to distant destinations. Mars settlement and deep space exploration will see reduced costs due to its reusability.
The Texas legislature amended the Texas Open Beaches Act in order to allow space flight operations to close beach access. The club said that in the year of 2018, the rocket facility was built 1,500 feet from the beach's water edge.
The Sierra Club stated that the statute change conflicts with the state constitution, which Texas voters amended in 2009 to guarantee the right to free and open access to public beaches.
In the first three months of 2022, the club said the beach was closed for nearly 200 hours, and in the second and third months of 2021, it was closed for more than 600 hours.
RGV residents have seen their access disappear because the defendants have closed Boca Chica beach so frequently. The Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas, which holds the land of Boca Chica sacred, has been ignored while they lose access to their heritage.
The Save RGV lawsuit was filed in October of 2021, and the Sierra Club and the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas announced they were joining on May 5. The group wants the court to throw out the amendment.
In their May 5 statement, the group did not say how much of the highway has been closed or how often.
You can follow Elizabeth Howell on social media. We encourage you to follow us on social media.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
