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VPC - Poisonous Pastime - Section One Page 11 of 16 • contamination of ground water, poisoning wells and other water sources; and, • contamination of wetlands or waterways into which lead falls. Shotgun shell casing, wads, and assorted packaging materials can also contain lead, chemicals, and other materials potentially harmful to the environment.65 For example, certain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons found in clay targets are said to be known carcinogens.66 (It is worth noting that shotgun shooters rejected a biodegradable clay target Winchester tried to market because it discharged white smoke when hit rather than the black smoke they were used to.)67 Dealing with these problems is complicated by the esoteric nature of the state and federal laws and regulations protecting the environment.k Several key issues of federal environmental law have been roughly focused in a handful of shooting range cases litigated to conclusion. But the NSSF notes that the relatively low number of reported law cases is not a true measure of the activity going on because "many shooting range cases are resolved in the early stages of litigation through consent orders under which the ranges agree to close down and perform further environmental investigations and cleanup at the range."68 Three federal laws have been found to be especially relevant to outdoor shooting ranges: the Clean Water Act (CWA),' the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA),m and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA or "Superfund")." Other federal laws may apply to a particular case, and state protections may be more stringent than the applicable federal laws. The Clean Water Act (CWA) The Clean Water Act makes it unlawful for any person to discharge "pollutants" from any "point source" into waters of the United States without obtaining a permit, called a "National Pollution Discharge Elimination System" (NPDES) permit. Two leading federal cases have held that lead shot and target debris (shattered clay pigeons) are "pollutants," and the trap shooting stations at shooting ranges are "point sources." Therefore, any range from which patrons shoot out over "Waters of the United States" must have an NPDES permit. This is a stringent requirement because "Waters of the United States" is broadly defined to include virtually all rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, drainage -ways, wetlands, and similar features, even those on private property, and it appears that, at least to date, no NPDES permit has ever been issued to a shooting range.89 Long Island Soundkeeper Fund, Inc. v. New York Athletic Club° involved a private trap shooting range at which spring launchers were used to toss clay targets out over Long Island Sound. Shooters fired at the clay targets from concrete platforms. Acting on a lawsuit brought by two public interest groups interested in preserving the Long Island Sound environment, the court ruled that "shot and target debris" generated by the shooting range constituted pollutants, and that the range was a point source. It is noteworthy that the court ruled that even though the club had switched to the use of steel shot, the shot was nevertheless a pollutant for purposes of the CWA. The club elected to discontinue the discharge rather than seek a permit.70 Stone v. Naperville Park District settled a dispute over a trap -shooting range in Naperville, Illinois.P The range was reported to have dumped as much as 230 tons of lead over 50 years of use on a small patch of land in a park near a high schoo1.71 The controversy began when neighbors became concerned about possible lead contamination of ground water and wells. Although state officials indicated they would allow the range to continue operation, federal officials expressed concern about lead pollution, especially noting two ponds on the site.72 Eventually the court ruled, consistent with the New York Athletic Club case, that the range's operations fell under the CWA and barred http://www.vpc.org/studies/leadone.htm 2/5/2014