Opponents of SpaceX land swap sue TPWD
A coalition of groups in South Texas is suing the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for authorizing a controversial land swap that would give SpaceX state parkland.
The lawsuit, filed earlier this month in Travis County District Court, alleges that Parks and Wildlife violated its obligations to minimize harm and to consider alternatives to giving away 43 acres in Boca Chica State Park, at the southern tip of the state.
“Protecting public parkland and the public’s interest means saying ‘no’ to the demands of SpaceX, whose spaceflight activities have caused harm to public lands and wildlife habitats,” attorney Marisa Perales, representing three Rio Grande Valley organizations, said in a news release.
Parks and Wildlife said it could not discuss the litigation.
The lawsuit was filed by the South Texas Environmental Justice Network, Save RGV and the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas. It comes one month after a Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting gave the initial green light for the land swap.
As part of the deal, SpaceX would buy 477 acres near the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge and give it to Parks and Wildlife, which plans to build a new state park with hiking, camping and access to expansive shorelines.
The 43 acres SpaceX would receive in exchange surrounds its South Texas facility where the company is developing and launching the world’s most powerful rocket. The land it would acquire is not connected, does not have beach access and is largely surrounded by private property.
The swap “allows SpaceX to expand operations in Cameron County, further expediting our lunar mission objectives,” Kathy Lueders, general manager for SpaceX operations in South Texas, said during a
March 4 meeting. “At the same time, it further expands on a critical refuge and allows Texans to receive a coveted property, which has been sought by multiple state and federal agencies for conservation efforts for over a decade.”
Opponents have questioned whether the exchange would truly offer the same type of habitat as Boca Chica, which is crucial for shorebirds. They have also noted that voters recently approved a $1 billion fund for creating and improving state parks, meaning the 477 acres could have been protected without giving parkland to SpaceX.
The lawsuit alleges that Parks and Wildlife “unconstitutionally misused” Chapter 26 of the agency’s code, which is supposed to “make the condemnation of park land a last resort for entities exercising eminent domain power.”
“The Commission did not meet its statutory obligation to consider alternatives to the taking of, and to minimize harm to, the 43 acres of the disposed-of parcels within Boca Chica State Park,” the lawsuit says. “And it failed to consider the best interests of the TPWD, as it was statutorily required to do.”
Parks and Wildlife has completed land swap deals in the past. One, brought before the commission in 2019, was similar to this SpaceX deal: Parks and Wildlife owned a lake south of Port Arthur and the company Port Arthur LNG owned land surrounding the lake.
The lake was rarely accessed, and Port Arthur LNG was concerned the state’s ownership of the water would hamper its operations, according to transcripts of the public meetings. So the state identified a nearby 1,280-acre tract of land that it had been eyeing, and the LNG company bought the land to swap for the lake.
The SpaceX land swap still needs to undergo an environmental assessment, surveys and other steps before it is finalized.