Port of Brownsville approves $2M SpaceX pipeline deal, with millions more on the table

For years, the rocket manufacturer Space Exploration Technologies Corp. built most of its multi-billion-dollar spaceport outside of the Port of Brownsville. 

Now, SpaceX is negotiating deals with the port not just for shipping channel docks or fishing camps, but for access to roadways and to bury two natural gas pipelines under the recently dredged channel for its infrastructure. 

The Brownsville Navigation District board of commissioners approved a series of deals, including a memorandum of understanding with SpaceX, for several projects Tuesday night, despite community concerns about transparency. 

“It will be a revenue stream, but these are things we do every day. These are agreements that are very common, pipeline easements and temporary storage agreements, so we just have a new customer now, which would be SpaceX,” said William Dietrich, CEO of the Port of Brownsville. “It is a milestone, and we work very well with SpaceX; this project came up on us really quick. Coming through the port is very natural for them, and it saves time, and it’s also a source of revenue for the port.”