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Win for shooting ranges under RCRA
Metacon Gun Club in Connecticut was sued by homeowners in the area (who probably bought houses next to a shooting range and then became upset that a shooting was next to their houses) under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). RCRA applies to "discarded" material that is classified as hazardous waste. Plaintiffs' theory was that this applied to lead bullets and shot on the ground and in the backstops.
The Second Circuit affirmed the district court, which agreed with the EPA that the discharge of projectiles is part of their normal use, and firing them does not "discard" them within meaning of the law. It also affirmed a finding that the plaintiffs had failed to make out a case under the Clean Water Act.
Hat tip to reader William Taggart....
· shooting
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interesting. where i work, we've been interpreting rcra that way for the 10 years i've been here and the state has never disagreed with that interpretation.
I lifted this from a PDF somewhere:
Connecticut Coastal Fishermen’s
Association v. Remington Arms Company, et
al.
The court concluded that lead shot and
clay targets meet the statutory definition of solid waste because these materials were “discarded (i.e. abandoned)” and “left to accumulate long after they have served their intended purpose.”
Further, the court concluded that based upon
toxicity testing and evidence of lead
contamination, the lead shot was a hazardous
waste subject to RCRA.
The important point to consider here is that if
lead shot and clay target debris are discarded
(i.e. abandoned), these materials are considered
a solid waste as defined in the statute and the
facility may be subject to governmental or citizen
suits.
If, on the other hand, the discharged lead shot is
recovered or reclaimed on a regular basis, no
statutory solid waste (or hazardous waste)
would be present and imminent hazard suits
would be avoided.
Notice that one of the plaintiff's amici was the National Wildlife Federation.
Your gun club may be members of, or support organizations that are affiliated with them.
Until recently, here in Pa., the largest statewide group, Pa. Fed. of Sportsmens Clubs, was an affiliate of that organization.
You have to be careful where your money goes.