ATLANTA – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has decided to revisit part of the environmental review process required to approve a controversial commercial spaceport in Camden County because of a major change in the project’s design.
While revising the environmental impact study (EIS) will require a second public comment period, sponsors of Spaceport Camden say the new development actually represents progress for their plans.
Camden County officials have been working since the middle of the last decade to build a commercial spaceport they say would create up to 2,000 jobs and convince the next generation of aerospace engineers, many of whom graduate from Georgia Tech, to stay in Georgia to pursue their careers. The project enjoys the backing of Gov. Brian Kemp and the state’s congressional delegation.
Homeowners on nearby Little Cumberland Island have spearheaded opposition to the spaceport as a public safety and environmental threat.
Officials with the National ParkSp Service also have spoken out against the project, warning it could disrupt tourism at the popular Cumberland Island National Seashore, while the Defense Department has raised concerns over the proposed launch site’s proximity to the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base.
The county submitted a revised license application to the FAA in January that calls for launching only small rockets from the site rather than the medium-to-large rockets envisioned in the original plan.
Conservation and environmental groups opposed to the spaceport sent a letter a month later asking the FAA to order the supplemental EIS.
“Small rockets fail at a much higher rate than medium-to-large rockets, so the FAA must now consider the environmental impacts of these risky, unproven vehicles,” said Brian Gist, senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center. “Given the enormous risks Spaceport Camden poses to public health, private property and Cumberland Island, this is not the time for shortcuts and half measures.”
Jimmy Starline, chairman of the Camden County Commission, said the FAA order for a revised environmental impact study is good news for the spaceport because it means the federal agency has signed off on other key project milestones.
“With only environmental review and policy review outstanding, Spaceport Camden has cleared critical safety and launch location reviews,” Starline said. “Camden County has had good conversations with the Pentagon and leadership at Kings Bay, and we are confident that we can deconflict any remaining issues pertaining to the Department of Defense.”
“The EIS has been the longest and most expensive part of this project,” commission Vice Chairman Gary Blount added. “I am hopeful we are nearing an end to that process.”
Meanwhile, county officials announced late last month that Camden has entered into a public/private partnership agreement with Organic Code Development LLC, an investment group that specializes in aerospace, to add a technology and research business park to the spaceport’s launch site.