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VPC - Poisonous Pastime - Section One Page 12 of 16 shooting until an NPDES permit was obtained. Although city and park officials have pressed for a permit, it seems clear that it will not be issued, certainly if lead shot is used.73 It is almost certain that many other shooting ranges across the country are operating without permits required by the CWA. This is particularly true when the shooting range is located on or near wetlands or waters such as rivers or creeks, or where the range allows the natural flow of rain or runoff to carry lead contaminants into such waters or even into groundwater.74 The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) RCRA established a "cradle to grave" regulatory scheme for the treatment, storage, and disposal of solid and hazardous wastes. The leading federal case in the field is Connecticut Coastal Fishermen's Association v. Remington Arms Co., Inc. The first such suit against a private range, it resulted in the closing of the Lordship Gun Club in Stratford, Connecticut, operated by Remington Arms Company.75 The Lordship trap and skeet range was located on Long Island Sound, directly across the mouth of the Housatonic River from two wildlife refuges. According to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, "After nearly 70 years of use, close to 2,400 tons of lead shot (5 million pounds) and 11 million pounds of clay target fragments were deposited on land around the club and in the adjacent waters of Long Island Sound.i76 A 1987 study documented acute lead poisoning in 15 of 28 black ducks captured in the area. Concerned about the effects of the range's operations, the Connecticut Coastal Fisherman's Association filed a lawsuit against the range, citing the CWA and RCRA. The case eventually wound up in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals which made three significant rulings: • The CWA complaint was moot because the range had suspended operations and was unlikely to resume. In short, past violations will not support a CWA suit so long as it appears that operations have been permanently suspended. • Under EPA's regulations and interpretations, shooting range operations do not constitute "discarding" a hazardous waste, and therefore do not require a permit. • However, the deposited lead and potential target debris do constitute hazardous solid wastes that present a substantial threat to the environment. The range was therefore subject to another provision of RCRA requiring remediation and cleanup, even though the range had ceased operations. As a result of this ruling, the range closed and Remington agreed to clean up both the lead and clay target waste. According to NSSF, several other ranges have been charged with violating CWA and RCRA, but most either went out of business, settled out of court, changed their shooting direction, or switched to non -toxic shot.77 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA or "Superfund") One of the peculiarities of these laws, as interpreted by the EPA, is that so long as a range is being used, the lead and other toxic materials it dumps into the environment are not considered as being discarded or abandoned. Shooting ranges are therefore not required to get the permits that, say, a landfill or toxic dump would be required to have if it wished to deposit the same material. http://www.vpc.org/studies/leadone.htm 2/5/2014