Concerns growing about space industry straining wastewater facilities in Brevard County

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Published  December 18, 2024 9:31pm EST
FOX 35 Orlando
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Space industry straining wastewater facilities in Brevard

A massive development called "Project Hinton" was just approved during a special Space Florida Board of Directors meeting on Wednesday. With the rapid growth comes new concerns about where all the rocket waste is going to go.

The Brief

    • Space Florida has approved "Project Hinton," a $1.8 billion space development bringing 600 new jobs to Brevard County. 
    • However, concerns are mounting over whether the county’s infrastructure, including the Sykes Creek Water Treatment facility, can handle the surge in wastewater. 
    • Local leaders and environmental advocates are calling for state and federal assistance to address the growing strain on resources.

MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. - Six hundred new space jobs and a $1.8 billion investment in infrastructure could be coming to Brevard County. 

The massive development called "Project Hinton" was just approved during a special Space Florida Board of Directors meeting on Wednesday. With the rapid growth comes new concerns about where all the rocket waste is going to go. 

Space Florida recently asked the county to tap into the Sykes Creek Water Treatment facility to help increase space companies’ wastewater capacity, but some are worried the infrastructure can’t handle it.

"This is one of those projects that would be transformative for the region, the state and for America," said Space Florida CEO’s Robert Long when describing Project Hinton to the board of leaders. 

During a special meeting, the entire board unanimously approved moving forward with the massive new space development as fast as possible. 

"Time is of the essence to approve this project due to significant customer demand driven by considerable increase of space-based activities," said Howard Haug, who’s the executive VP of Space Florida. 

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Time is also of the essence to figure out where all the extra wastewater is going to go.  

"They’re running out of capacity on the military bases, and so they want to hook into Sykes Creek treatment facility which is on Merritt Island, but we only have up to 10 years capacity left," said Brevard County District 1 Commissioner Katie Delaney. 

In the fall, Space Florida sent a letter to county commissioners, asking the county to let them start sending 300,000 gallons of space waste per day to the Sykes facility by 2027.

"We’re growing way too fast for our infrastructure. We want to know what they are going to do on their end to help us battle the issues with the wastewater," said Stel Bailey, who’s a nationally recognized environmental health advocate. 

Environmental experts like Bailey are worried about possible wastewater leaks during storms, and commissioners are worried about taxpayers footing the bill.

"Our federal government and our state government need to step in and help bear this burden because it should not be on the backs of the Brevard County taxpayers," concluded Delaney. 

The massive space project just approved by the Space Florida board is slated to break ground as soon as January. Construction will take up to two years, and what happens with all the extra space waste is still up for debate with local leaders. 

The Source: Information for this story comes from Space Florida, Brevard County District 1 Commissioner Katie Delaney, and environmental health advocate Stel Bailey.

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