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Congress weighs in on controversy over rocket launch environmental impacts on Central Coast

SpaceX
A SpaceX Falcon 9 launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base

Legislation acknowledges launches impact neighboring communities, and calls on Department of Defense to look at mitigation measures.

Congress is stepping into the fray over the environmental impacts of space launches from the Central Coast.

As part of the funding bill passed by the House of Representatives for the Department of Defense, there is language which acknowledges the disruption caused by space launches to nearby communities. It calls on the Department to take steps to mitigate sonic booms, and other measures.

Democratic Congressman Salud Carbajal of Santa Barbara pushed adding the language to the defense spending bill.

A major spike in the number of SpaceX launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base made this a local issue. The launches take part under the wing of the Air Force. Noting that many of the launches aren’t military related, the State Coastal Commission wants the company to apply for a permit so launch impacts can be assessed. SpaceX has filed suit against the Coastal Commission, claiming the action is politically motivated.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.