Pecan Island is home to around 300 permanent residents who live only about six miles from the planned launchpads, Nolan writes. SpaceX hosted a forum to engage with the community, who were primarily concerned with environmental damage, property access, bird migration and flood risks. To many of their questions, SpaceX did not have an answer, and in two instances, representatives backtracked.
"Lil Mark" Broussard, a resident of the island, owns a strip of land between the shoreline and the southern border of SpaceX’s property. He asked if he would be able to access this land. Mark Soltys, the principal launch engineer, originally said SpaceX would not deny him access to his land, but he changed his answer during the hearing to "Access is blocked." This is because the expulsion zone as rockets launch would be too large to allow safe, unrestricted access — especially if there are 30 launches daily.
The expanse of this expulsion area would impact Pecan’s coastline fishing access and its status as a hub for the Mississippi River Flyaway. Katy Groom, SpaceX’s director of environmental regulatory affairs, said native birds will momentarily flush, but will return, but could only tell residents the company would "figure it out" when asked how birds would return between 30 launches a day.
With marsh land depleted, SpaceX would also have to build a levee/barrier to protect the island, but the question is whether it will surround the community, too. The answer is unclear: A state permit was bought, but has not been used to address flood protection plans. Many are worried about the noise from the launches or possible home damage, but a new Louisiana law means residents can’t sue. "SpaceX cannot be held liable for ‘noise, sonic booms, overflight, vibration, light, heat, exhaust, smoke, odor, visual intrusion, temporary access restrictions, or any other disturbance.'"
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