News Releases - 2000

Naperville Sportsman's Park Proposed Permit Submitted to U.S. EPA

Springfield, Ill. -- A proposed National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit for the Naperville Sportsman's Park has been sent by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to U.S. EPA for approval. If approved by the federal agency, the permit would be the nation's first to be issued for such an operation.

Approval would also allow the gun club to resume shooting so long as no lead shot is deposited in the waters of the state, in effect requiring the club to use only steel shot on the premises it leases from the Naperville Park District.

Action on the proposed permit will cap a long and sometimes contentious series of events involving the gun club, the park district, citizens and the IEPA, with input from U.S. EPA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and others.

The application initially was filed after a neighbor sued the club and the district. A federal judge ruled that under the Clean Water Act the gun club needed an NPDES permit, which is required by federal regulations for any discharge into the waters of the state. The club suspended operations in July 1998 following the judge's decision. U.S. EPA's Region 5 subsequently held that the permit was required.

In the case of the Naperville facility, lead pellets from shells fired at the club sometimes fell into water and a wetland on the site. Lead can be hazardous to waterfowl, which ingest the pellets as part of their feeding process. If enough accumulate in the birds' digestive systems, over time they can cause lead poisoning and result in death. While federal regulations prohibit use of lead shot for hunting migratory waterfowl, the restriction has not previously been applied to gun clubs where shooting generally is done over land surfaces. If the Naperville permit is approved, it could impact any gun club where there is a possibility of water pollution from lead shot use.

The public comment period preceding a public hearing on the permit application last October drew more than 300 responses, by far the largest response the IEPA has ever received involving an NPDES permit. Comments were roughly divided between support and opposition of permit issuance.

More than 150 exhibits were entered in the public hearing record for the permit, in addition to the lengthy public hearing transcript of comments. Because of the complexity of the issues and the widespread public interest, preparation and review of the proposed permit and its associated responses to public comments took several months to complete.

U.S. EPA has 90 days in which to act on the proposed permit. If the federal agency does not act on the proposed permit in that time period, it will be considered to be approved, and will be issued by the Illinois EPA. All NPDES permits must be re-authorized every five years.