Hundreds of residents packed an elementary school cafeteria Tuesday night to question representatives from Castelion Corporation about a proposed hypersonic missile manufacturing facility planned for just outside of Rio Rancho.
The company unveiled plans for Project Ranger, a $100 million facility that would manufacture solid rocket motors and assemble complete missiles for the U.S. military on a 2-mile-wide site about three miles west of Rio Rancho’s Northern Meadows community.
Andrew Kreitz, Castelion’s co-founder and chief financial officer, told the crowd the facility would create at least 300 jobs by year five, with average compensation around $100,000 annually. The company plans to invest hundreds of millions more in subsequent years, he said.
“This will be our scale production site. This will be the factory that is making solid rocket motors and is making what are called all-up rounds,” Kreitz said. “This is a process that’s well understood, well controlled, very tightly regulated. It’s done very safely in many places around the United States.”
But residents voiced concerns about safety, water contamination, property values and emergency response capabilities during the two-hour meeting at Cielo Azul Elementary School.
The facility would not synthesize chemicals on-site or conduct flight testing, officials said. Operations would include mixing propellant ingredients, casting them into motor cases, assembling complete missiles and conducting static fire tests lasting about 30 seconds.
“We are not synthesizing ammonium perchlorate on site; we are not manufacturing chemicals on site,” Kreitz said. “In addition, nothing will be launched onsite.”
One resident pressed Kreitz on emergency scenarios: “Worst case scenario, the entire site goes up in flames, what about our Northern Meadows community since we’re only three miles away? Are we going to be forced to just take all of that, who knows what’s going to be burning and just say ‘sorry, we can’t even go near the site, we can’t put it out?'”
Officials said the facility would not have fire sprinklers because the materials react with water. Instead, the company would install heat and smoke detection systems.
After two hours of discussion, some residents said they needed more information before supporting the project.
“I have about 35 questions and you answered some of them, but this demands answers, and we need something more specific,” an attendee said. “So we need more transparency, we need more meetings to talk about and dive into this because this is a very critical issue for our community.”
Multiple residents questioned the facility’s environmental impact, particularly regarding groundwater contamination.
An employee with Bernalillo County’s Open Space Department, who identified himself as a property owner in the area, cited New Mexico’s 307 oil and gas spills between January and March and questioned water usage estimates.
Kreitz acknowledged historical contamination at a California site in the 1960s and 1970s but said modern regulations prevent such incidents. He said the facility would use water equivalent to about 50 households, primarily for bathrooms and sinks.
“We do not use any processed water in the production of solid rocket motors,” Kreitz said. “This would never be allowed today by any of the regulations.”
The company said it could not find any record of community members being harmed at similar solid rocket facilities across the United States.
Residents raised concerns about transporting hazardous materials past schools and hospitals on Idalia Road, and whether local fire departments could adequately respond to emergencies.
One resident noted the route crosses the Rio Grande, a critical water source for New Mexico.
Kreitz said the company expects one to three trucks per week for deliveries and has consulted with FBI and counterintelligence agencies about security. He said Department of Defense regulations prohibit firefighters from directly fighting fires involving rocket propellant.
The company has met with Rio Rancho and Sandoval County fire officials about emergency response plans, Kreitz said.
The facility would span approximately 2,800 acres with buildings spaced according to Department of Defense explosive safety regulations. Static fire tests would generate noise comparable to a vacuum cleaner at Northern Meadows’ distance, occurring during working hours for roughly 30 seconds at a time, Kreitz said.
Sandoval County Manager Wayne Johnson said tribal consultation is ongoing, with all New Mexico tribes notified about the project.
Kreitz said the company hopes to decide on the Rio Rancho site within the next week or two.
Sandoval County commissioners have already approved $125 million in industrial revenue bonds for the development. The county commission approved two resolutions Oct. 8, allowing the county to control land needed for the facility, which would be located on New Mexico State Land Office property.
On Wednesday, county commissioners are scheduled to vote on an ordinance to support the construction of the facility.