A 58.16 acre hazardous waste site is identified on the proposed spaceport site. In fact, the Hazardous Waste Landfill is more than twice as big as the proposed launch pad facility site. The waste site is under a recorded Environmental Covenant (“Covenant”) between Union Carbide and Georgia Environmental Protection Division (“GEPD”.)

Environmental Covenant
Section 6. Activity and Use Limitation(s).

….“Any activity on the area (4,011.54 acres), including the RCRA landfill that may result in the release or exposure to hazardous wastes, hazardous constituents, hazardous waste constituents or the constituents of concern that were contained as part of the post-closure care and corrective action program, or create a new exposure pathway, is prohibited.”
 

Several concerns are specific to this Hazardous Waste Site:
 

A.    The Purchase Contract for the spaceport site requires that the Hazardous Waste Landfill must be excluded from the site purchase. GEPD expressly included all 4,011.54 acres of the site in the Covenant for the purpose of protecting the Landfill from future development on any part of the site. To technically remove the site in a property transaction would not remove the site from its location and proximity to the launch danger zone. 

B.    Spaceport Camden plans include both launch pad and landing pads that are currently proposed respectively 1.6 and 1.0 miles from the Hazardous Waste Landfill and could very well fall within a required launch and landing blast exclusion zone. The proximity of the landfill, irrespective of its ownership, must be considered a significant risk and is unique to this site.

D.    There is extensive research on the significant effects of sound and seismic waves from Cape Canaveral launches. However, tests must be conducted that prove repeated SEISMIC and SHOCKS from Rocket tests, over years of launches and impacts will have no negative effects on this Hazardous Waste Landfill.

E. The Upper Floridian Aquifer flows under the Hazardous Waste Landfill at about 800 feet deep. It provides drinking water to all of the Georgia Coastal cities and most cities in upper and middle Florida. Salt water infiltration is prevented because the Floridan aquifer is contained under pressure by a confining bed of low permeability sediments. Tests must prove that regional water supplies can never be poisoned by Spaceport activities.  

F. Union Carbide has acknowledged that it is responsible for additional toxic chemicals not originally thought to be at the Hazardous Waste Landfill.

G.    A catastrophic and eventually likely launch failure or landing would cause an impact seismic vibration of unknown magnitude that may cause failure of the Hazardous Waste Landfill containment.

H.    A launch or landing accident could impact directly on the Hazardous Waste Landfill.