This week a judge will hear a lawsuit regarding access restrictions to a beach in South Texas near SpaceX’s Boca Chica facility.

The lawsuit sees the Sierra Club, Save RGV and the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas fighting the Texas General Land Office, George P. Bush and Cameron County for closing the Boca Chica beach for SpaceX operations. While SpaceX’s facility is the cause of the closures it doesn’t appear to be part of the suit. The issue here is legislation and how it is applied by officials.

The Sierra Club argues that restricting access to a public beach violates the Texas constitution. In a statement, the Sierra Club explains that a 2013 legislature amendment allows for the closure of beaches for space flight operations. Five years later, SpaceX constructed its facility just 457 metres from the beach.

“The defendants have closed Boca Chica beach so frequently that RGV residents have seen their access essentially disappear. The Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas, which holds the land of Boca Chica sacred, has been ignored while they lose access to their ancestral heritage. In just the first three months of 2022, the beach has been effectively closed for 196 hours. In 2021, it was effectively closed for over 600 hours. This is far beyond the numbers reported by SpaceX or even allowed under the framework the defendants are using as an unconstitutional loophole,” the organisation writes.

The lawsuit was filed in October 2021 and asks a court to invalidate the 2013 legislative amendment. The lawsuit is set to be heard on 1st June according to Space.com.

It’s unclear what consequences this lawsuit would have for SpaceX. The distance from the beach means that it would be dangerous for civilians to be close-by. We don’t see SpaceX closing up shop but perhaps if launches are no longer viable from the Texas facility, it will be forced to.