On Saturday, August 29, the Brownsville City Commission unanimously voted to disannex about 444 acres of land near the Port of Brownsville to SpaceX. This means that the land not only belongs to SpaceX, but it would no longer be under the jurisdiction of the City of Brownsville. In exchange for the land, SpaceX agrees to provide the city with $220 million for water and wastewater infrastructure projects.
Mayor John Cowen Jr. told MyRGV.com that he felt the city “put the residents first” with its decision.
“Water is a huge issue in South Texas and around the state,” Mayor Cowen said. “And this decision today will ensure that Brownsville will be a place for future generations to live, and for our continued growth as a city.”
While this decision is being promoted as an investment in the future of Brownsville’s water security, it does raise a difficult question: what happens when a community’s access to a critical resource like water becomes tied to giving one of the world’s most powerful private companies control over their land?
In a statement to TruchaRGV, Bekah Hinojosa, on behalf of the South Texas Environmental Justice Network (SOTXEJN) said the City of Brownsville Commissioners “failed the community” by signing this MOU with SpaceX, and “allowing SpaceX to take over and destroy 444 acres of land.”
“We packed the 6-hour-long City of Brownsville meeting on a Saturday and witnessed SpaceX staff bully our community,” said SOTXEJN.
“We saw the most blatant display of the City of Brownsville’s gross incompetence,” the statement continued. “We hand-delivered more than 400 letters from residents opposing the [disannexation], and dozens of residents showed up to make 3-minute public comments against hacking up Brownsville city limits to give away 444 acres of land to SpaceX.”
The decision wasn’t just controversial but also incredibly rushed, with SpaceX bringing the proposal to the city less than two weeks before the decision was made.
Pressure was placed on the city to make the decision on SpaceX’s timeline.
During the August 29 meeting, Mayor Cowen responded to Brownsville Resident Uriel Gavito’s concerns about the rush by saying that he wished the city, “had another month or two to really work this out, but this is a take it or leave it deal.”
SpaceX’s ability to put so much pressure on the city highlights a growing power imbalance in the city’s (and the rest of the Rio Grande Valley’s) dealings with SpaceX.
During the meeting, SpaceX Vice President of Starship Legal and Regulatory Issues Sheila McCorkle, made it incredibly clear that the money would only be provided if an ordinance that formalized the disannexation was passed that night.
The city was negotiating with the knowledge that they could be losing hundreds of millions of dollars in promised water infrastructure.
Nadia Tamez-Robledo described it as a “catch-22” in an article on MyRGV.com, stating that “commissioners could have either approved the ordinance and risked losing the trust of those who see SpaceX as having undue influence over the city; or not approve it and lose a once-in-a-lifetime windfall that could future-proof its water supply.”
In their statement SOTXEJN echoes that Brownsville is facing a “severe water shortage” but goes on to say the issue is, “largely because elected officials support industrial projects like SpaceX that suck up massive amounts of our water.”
With cities across the country (and the state) facing water crises, and the US Court ruling that safe drinking water is not a constitutionally protected right, it’s clear why a deal like the one presented would appeal to the Brownsville commissioners.
However, it brings us back to the main issue: should SpaceX be able to decide the future of Brownsville? Should any private company be able to leverage its power to make a local government do what it wants? And, will the price of this deal, and future deals be measured in dollars, or in how much control the people of Brownsville have over their home?
For their part SOTXEJN doesn’t plan on relinquishing control without a fight.
“We will keep speaking out about the destruction SpaceX causes to our homes and our environment,” SOTXEJN said. “Because we live here and we’re not going anywhere.”
For now, it’s clear SpaceX doesn’t want to go anywhere either. They have now added 444 acres to their ever-expanding South Texas footprint, and in return, Brownsville is counting on $200 million for something every resident needs: water.
Join SOTXEJN on Wednesday Sept 16th to learn more about what SpaceX and Elon Musk are doing to Brownsville at their teachin:
