News Releases - 2000

Naperville Sportsman's Park Receives Nation's First Gun Club NPDES Permit

Springfield, Ill. -- A DuPage County trap shooting program that was required by the Illinois EPA to obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit in order to comply with the federal Clean Water Act, has been issued the permit. The issuance marks the first time such a permit has been written for any gun club in the nation. Among the permit's special conditions is one that bans all use of lead shot and requires monthly written documentation that lead shot has not been used.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency issued the NPDES permit to the Naperville Sportsman's Park after years of controversy among shooters using the facility; the Naperville Park district, which leases the site to the group; and local residents, who were divided in opposing or supporting the gun club. The issue of whether shotgun pellets constitute a point source discharge that should be regulated by permit ultimately also involved the courts, U.S. EPA, the Illinois EPA, and the federal Fish and Wildlife Service.

IEPA Director Tom Skinner noted the widespread public interest and the broad involvement of regulatory bodies in drafting and approving the final permit. "Because of its ground-breaking nature and the widespread interest in this permit, it has been subject to very careful scrutiny throughout the application process. We have carefully weighed the many comments, pro and con, that were received and we are confident that sound environmental controls have been written into this permit," Director Skinner said.

The permit is effective October 13, 2000, and is effective until Sept. 30, 2005, after which it must be re-issued. In addition to banning use of lead shot by club members, it requires that targets be made of non-toxic material.

The club operates target shooting activities on property it has leased for years from the Naperville Park District. The club and the district applied for an NPDES permit after a neighbor sued both, maintaining that the permit was required and that the facility was operating without one. A federal judge subsequently ruled that the federal Clean Water Act required the gun club to have an NPDES permit, which covers 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 also held that a permit was required. Region 5 has given its approval to the final permit as drafted by Illinois EPA.

Lead pellets from shells fired at the Naperville Sportsman's 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. Federal regulations prohibit use of lead shot for hunting migratory waterfowl, but the restriction has not previously been applied to gun clubs, where shooting generally is done over land surfaces.

In October 1999, a public hearing was held on the permit application. The public comment period preceding and following the hearing drew more than 300 responses, by far the largest response the IEPA has ever received involving an NPDES permit.

The permit, and the Agency's response summary that lists all comments received from the public as well as the Agency's response to each, are available in the Bureau of Water's section of the Agency's homepage.

Related Information

• NPDES Permits