IRLNews:2021-03-01/NASA Causeway Bridges and Beyond
It wasn’t until 1970 that the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) was passed to regulate the environmental impact of Federal Agencies. NEPA requires federal organizations to adhere to a preset environmental review process for their activities.
There are 4 levels to a NEPA review, the first is Categorical Exclusion (CATEX), which allows federal agencies to list any activities that should be excluded from environmental review. Understandably, NASA Categorically Excluded most all of its activities in the name of national security.
A recent project to rebuild the 1964 Indian River Bridge avoided a NEPA environmental review when NASA Categorically Excluded the project, and then named the Federal Highway and Waterway Administration (FHWA) a co-agency on the project. As a federal co-agency the FHWA inherited the project’s Categorical Exclusion from NASA.
In 2018? NASA signed over ownership of the Indian River bridge, causeway, and 17 acres of adjacent land to the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). A convenient FHWA - FDOT Agreement from 2016 allowed FHWA to transfer the rebuild projects Categorical Exclusions to FDOT.
And so, FDOT now owns the causeway and it’s future bridge rebuild project is exempt from environmental review. A 57 year old earthen berm causeway; hurriedly constructed during the Cold War; built years before environmental regulations were enacted; will continue to constrict 80% of the Indian River lagoon at Addison Point.
For decades, we have trusted NASA to be a good environmental steward for the largest stretch of undeveloped land on Florida’s East Coast. NASA’s mission statement includes promises of environmental stewardship, yet they perpetuate 1960’s construction methods that have drastically affected all three lagoons in the estuary.
And Beyond: The SR405 bridge rebuild is just an indication of what is ahead.
NASA is quickly working to divest it’s non-mission critical facilities and vacant property at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The 2017 KSC Master Plan outlines NASA’s intention to transition day to day operations of the launch center to SpaceFlorida and other commercial interests, in what is to become Canaveral Space Port.
The state run Canaveral Space Port’s mission is to attract and promote space tourism and commercial space ventures. Should today’s commercial space port inherit the same environmental exclusions that we provided Cold War NASA?
The KSC Master Plan displays a map showing 10,000? acres of vacant property they have available for development, including areas north of Haulover Canal in the heart of Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (MINWR) and Canaveral National Seashore (CANA). NASA is taking back the land it gave to preservation in order to commercialize it. It appears that the primitive wilderness areas of MINWR and CANA are in jeopardy of development.
Soon SpaceFlorida, Canaveral Space Port and it’s many different commercial entities will be individually responsible for complying with environmental regulations. Can we trust commercial interests to be good environmental stewards for the IRL national estuary?
Here is a list of recent KSC news headlines:
SR405 Indian River Bridge rebuilt without environmental review
SpaceFlorida chooses MINWR’s Shiloh for new launch site
SpaceX requests 22 acre wetland mitigation
