Environmental Group Demands County Judge Protect Boca Chica Beach

By Diego Garcia III | Editor of The Brownsville Beacon

"There’s got to be some give and take in order for this to be successful."

That's what Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño, Jr. told The Brownsville Herald's Laura B. Martinez in an interview for an article about a recent letter his office received from a nonprofit environmental group called Save RGV. The letter is a request to deny SpaceX's permit in its current form because it fails to address critical environmental issues, among them a viable plan to dispose of contaminated water from retention ponds, as per the Clean Water Act.

The letter was also sent to Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz as well as all pertinent state and federal agencies.

Furthermore, Save RGV says SpaceX is in violation of the agreement made with Cameron County, the General Land Office, and the Federal Aviation Administration in regards to the amountof times SpaceX has requested to close State Highway 4 — they have already used up the number of requests they initially agreed to.

Closing a state highway and denying people access to Brazos Island State Park and Boca Chica Beach past the allotted requests is in violation of the law. The Cameron County Judge should not give SpaceX a blank check to close the only roadway to the beach whenever they want.

A statement releaasd by Save RGV reads, "This is illegal and against our State Bill of Rights, as provided by Article I, Section 33 of the Texas Constitution, and so demand all further road and beach closure orders be ceased for the remainder of the year."

Save RGV goes on to mention the lack of a set schedule of when these road closures occur. Often times closures are rescheculed and extended without prior authorization. 

On his desk in the Oval Office, President Harry S. Truman had a sign that said "The Buck Stops Here." There is no such sign on Eddie Treviño's desk. In another interview conducted by The Herald, Treviño stated he wasn't sure who had the authority to enforce the number of times SpaceX was allowed to close the highway. He mentioned he didn't know if it was the county or the Federal Aviation Administration.

I might not be the smartest man in the world, but it stands to reason the FAA would be in charge of deciding things having to do with airspace, not with a state highway. Even if it isn't the county that is responsible, why the FAA? Why not the state? It just sounds like Eddie Trevino doesn't want to upset Musk and SpaceX by saying someone else might be responsible other than the county judge.

Maybe Treviño is hoping for a few big, fat political contributions from Musk and SpaceX bigwigs and he doesn't want ro alienate them.

I'm sure the Brownsville city leaders Musk has seduced with his empty promises and his paltry 10 million dollar donation for downtown revitalization don't want Treviño to upset the supposed golden goose, either. 

The city leaders love Musk so much, often appearing at pro-SpaceX events and naming a new road out by the airport Starship Road. Maybe they'll just vote to rename Brownsville "Starbase," giving Musk the whole town in addition to the land he's gobbling up in addition to Boca Chica Beach.

Musk has been nothing but trouble since he broke ground on his launch site. He promised jobs and money that haven't come into the community; and he has not lived up to the legally binding agreements he agreed to. His company has single handedly decimated an entire sleepy community that had existed a stone's throw from the beach for decades. He has set plans in motion to incorporate the area around Boca Chica Beach and make his own city.

How much more are city, county, state, and federal leaders going to allow this swindler to get away with? How much are the people going to allow this grifter to get away with? How many more murals are we going to paint emblazoned with Musk's visage?

Musk is not the rock Brownsville and Cameron County are built on. Brownsvillians can no longer afford to let Elon Musk pull the wool over our eyes.

It is time for Brownsvillians to take their city back from those who wish to exploit us. It is time to tell these carpetbaggers the Deep South Texas ecosystem isn't for sale, no matter how much money the Tesla Titan wants to pay us.

There's got to be some give and take for this to be successful? Brownsville has given, and all Musk has done is taken. It's time for him to give way more than he has.

Brownsville and Cameron County shound NOT be for sale.


To read the rest of The Herald's article:

https://myrgv.com/local-news/2021/06/09/non-profit-asks-cameron-county-stop-boca-chica-beach-closures-for-the-rest-of-the-year/

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