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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is soliciting public comment for a SpaceX proposal to expand the existing launch pad and infrastructure at the company’s Starbase/Boca Chica launch site.

The comment period ends Sept. 25, according to a public notice from the agency.

SpaceX wants the expansion in order to “support Starship/Super Heavy vehicle and pad upgrades, increased launch cadence, and to provide rapidly reusable launch and landing infrastructure,” according to the USACE. The project would involve approximately 21 acres at Boca Chica, permanently impacting approximately 5.8 acres of “emergent wetland” and 9.65 acres of wind tidal flats, for a total of 18.15 acres, according to the agency.

The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council describes wind tidal flats as a “unique coastal ecosystem” subject to flooding by wind-driven tides and existing only in “hyper saline micro tidal landscapes.” Laguna Madre is the largest hyper saline bay in the world, according to the organization.

“The proposed infrastructure would consist of a new controlled access entrance road, launch infrastructure components which may include test/staging pads, water and propellant storage, isolation and purging facilities, support equipment staging, blast walls, and internal roadways,” the USACE said.

The agency said the 55-acre project area contains roughly 35.2 acres of undeveloped land including Gulf coast shoreline, coastal dunes, lomas, wind tidal flats, and emergent wetlands. There are approximately 12.3 acres of emergent wetlands in addition to the 9 acres-plus of wind tidal flats, which drain into the Rio Grande, south of project site.

The USACE said the project design incorporates blast walls throughout the infrastructure to reduce the overall expansion footprint at the launch area and the impact on wetlands. This will allow infrastructure facilities to be located closer to the existing launch pads, the agency said.

“Retaining walls have been proposed around the Launch Area expansion footprint to make the most use of the proposed limits of disturbance and completely avoid wetland impacts resulting from fill slopes around the pad,” the USACE said.

SpaceX’s proposal for a liquid methane propellant storage facility in the southern parcel of the affected land makes use of uplands in that area to reduce some wetland impact, while the project design also minimizes impact to a coastal dune and herbaceous wetland complex in the project site’s eastern parcel, according to the agency.

“The project would be constructed ‘top down’ to completely avoid temporary disturbance to the surrounding wetlands,” the USACE said. “Silt fencing would be installed around the permitted limits of disturbance to minimize erosion and sedimentation impacts to receiving waters and to ensure construction equipment remains within the permitted project limits.”

SpaceX has proposed mitigating, or offsetting, the project’s environmental impact through the purchase of compensatory mitigation credits from the proposed 1,050-acre “Rockhands Mitigation Bank.” Wetland essentially means restoring or preserving some portion of wetland to make up for wetland destroyed during the course of construction or development elsewhere.

The USACE said its public notice on the project is based on information provided by SpaceX and has not been verified by the USACE. Neither has the wetland delineation been verified, according to the agency, which said a preliminary review of SpaceX’s permit application for the project indicates no Environmental Impact Statement is required.

“Since permit assessment is a continuing process, this preliminary determination of EIS requirement will be changed if data or information brought forth in the coordination process is of a significant nature,” the USACE said.

The agency said it is soliciting comments from the public as well as federal, state and local agencies, Indian tribes and other interested parties “to consider and evaluate the impacts of this proposed activity.”

“Any comments received will be considered by the Corps of Engineers to determine whether to issue, modify, condition or deny a permit for this proposal,” the USACE said. “To make this decision, comments are used to assess impacts on endangered species, historic properties, water quality, general environmental effects, and the other public interest factors listed above.”

The agency requests that comments for or against the project provide “sufficient detail to furnish a clear understanding of the reasons for support or opposition.”

Also, prior to the close of the comment period anyone may make a written request for a public hearing. Such requests should set forth particular reasons for why a public hearing should be held. The USACE’s district engineer will decide, based on the requests, whether a public hearing is warranted, according to the agency.

To see the complete USACE public notice, request further information and/or submit comments go to rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs/public-notices. File number SWG-2012-00381 should be referenced. “SpaceX” or “Starbase” may also be entered in the text search box under the heading “Filter Notices” on the public notices web page.

Extensions of the comment period may be granted “for valid reasons provided a written request is received by Sept. 25, according to the agency. Comments and requests for information may also be mailed to the following address: Corpus Christi Regulatory Field Office, Regulatory Division, CESWG-RD-R, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District,5151 Flynn Parkway, Suite 306, Corpus Christi, Texas 78411-4318.

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