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There are limits to when and for how long you are allowed to close roads for specific purposes, just as there are limits to when and where you can launch rocket
by Conscat 2y ago
There are limits to when and for how long you are allowed to close roads for specific purposes, just as there are limits to when and where you can launch rockets of specific sizes. SpaceX ignored the rules, and nobody enforces them despite the protests from residents of Boca Chica. Obviously the Texas government agrees with you that the law is whatever they choose to enforce, but there are still written rules.
- TheOtherHobbes 2y agoAnd if the laws are on the books, it makes legal action against the state - as well as the offender - likelier and more remunerative.
- Conscat 2y agoOne would think, but the FAA consistently failed to do much more than submit letters to SpaceX, which resulted in the FAA themselves being investigated. I don't think much ever came out of that. Only in the past year has the FAA been actively concerned about whatever SpaceX does, and coincidentally, Elon Musk demanded the FAA administrator resign, who promptly did.
- kelnos 2y agoWhat's up with the residents of Boca Chica? I know suing a company like SpaceX is expensive, but I'd be surprised if they couldn't band together to cover costs, or find some legal team at a rights org to take it on for cheap or on contingency. They could also sue the local and state government to try to force them to enforce the laws on the books.
- mainecoder 2y agoWhat SpaceX is doing is more important than Boca Chica
- reissbaker 2y agoI'd be interested in reading about the legal limits to road closures, and reading about how they apply to the government and not just to private enterprises — since it's not in fact SpaceX closing the roads, but actually the Texas courts ordering road closures (for safety purposes around SpaceX launch sites). I haven't seen evidence that SpaceX is actually breaking any laws here.