Bill Text: NY S08461 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Establishes the sporting range good neighbor act requiring skeet field tracts at shooting ranges to be certain dimensions; prohibits them from including wetlands or open water sources; directs the department of environmental conservation to promulgate rules and regulations regarding environmental stewardship and lead ammo material reclamation.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-03 - PRINT NUMBER 8461B [S08461 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S08461-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8461--B IN SENATE January 31, 2024 ___________ Introduced by Sen. HARCKHAM -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- committee discharged and said bill committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to establishing the "sporting range good neighbor act" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "sporting 2 range good neighbor act". 3 § 2. The environmental conservation law is amended by adding three new 4 sections 37-0123, 37-0125 and 37-0127 to read as follows: 5 § 37-0123. Shooting ranges; skeet fields; prevention of lead migration. 6 1. (a) Every skeet field tract at a shooting range shall be a minimum 7 of six hundred yards by three hundred yards with the shooting semicircle 8 located in the middle of the long side. 9 (b) Any shooting range which is unable to comply with the requirements 10 of paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall construct and maintain appro- 11 priate backstops to prevent lead migration outside of the designated 12 skeet field tract. Such backstops shall be constructed of material that 13 effectively captures bullets and shall be covered by a roof to prevent 14 precipitation from eroding such backstops. 15 2. No portion of a skeet field tract shall include a wetland or open 16 water source. 17 3. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the follow- 18 ing meanings: 19 (a) "shooting range" shall mean an outdoor range equipped with targets 20 for use with firearms and shall include, but not be limited to, all 21 rifle, pistol and shotgun ranges. 22 (b) "skeet field tract" shall mean a portion of an outdoor shooting 23 range used for clay, sporting clay, trap or skeet shooting. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD13396-05-4S. 8461--B 2 1 § 37-0125. Outdoor shooting range environmental stewardship and lead 2 ammunition material reclamation. 3 1. The department shall promulgate rules and regulations regarding 4 environmental stewardship and lead ammunition material reclamation at 5 outdoor shooting ranges and require reporting by outdoor shooting ranges 6 regarding such ranges' environmental stewardship and lead ammunition 7 material reclamation. Such reporting shall include: 8 (a) Environmental actions that have been completed on the outdoor 9 shooting range; 10 (b) The present environmental setting, including upgrades, if applica- 11 ble, along with previous range maintenance activities; 12 (c) Identification of issues of potential environmental concern asso- 13 ciated with shooting and related lead constituents; 14 (d) Identification, evaluation and prioritization of appropriate 15 actions to manage issues identified pursuant to paragraph (c) of this 16 subdivision; 17 (e) Identification of short- and long-term action items and steps 18 needed for implementation; 19 (f) An implementation plan for such action items; 20 (g) Identification of ways to measure and document results of lead 21 ammunition material management actions; and 22 (h) Periodic evaluation of progress toward environmental stewardship 23 goals and appropriate revisions of plans. 24 2. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the follow- 25 ing meanings: 26 (a) "shooting range" shall mean an outdoor range equipped with targets 27 for use with firearms and shall include, but not be limited to, all 28 rifle, pistol and shotgun ranges. 29 (b) "skeet field tract" shall mean a portion of an outdoor shooting 30 range used for clay, sporting clay, trap or skeet shooting. 31 § 37-0127. Shooting range implementation plans. 32 1. Any shooting range which violates sections 37-0123 and 37-0125 of 33 this article shall receive a warning notice for the first such violation 34 and shall be required to submit an implementation plan to the depart- 35 ment, detailing the shooting range's plan to implement sections 37-0123 36 and 37-0125 of this article. The requirements for such implementation 37 plan shall be promulgated by the department and included as part of the 38 warning notice issued to shooting ranges pursuant to this subdivision. 39 The department shall approve or disapprove an implementation plan within 40 sixty days of receipt. Upon approval of such implementation plan a 41 shooting range shall implement such plan within ninety days. 42 2. As used in this section "shooting range" shall mean an outdoor 43 range equipped with targets for use with firearms and shall include, but 44 not be limited to, all rifle, pistol and shotgun ranges. 45 § 3. Section 71-3703 of the environmental conservation law is amended 46 by adding a new subdivision 8 to read as follows: 47 8. Any shooting range which violates any of the provisions of or which 48 fails to perform any duty imposed by section 37-0127 of this chapter or 49 any rule or regulation promulgated pursuant thereto, shall be liable 50 for a civil penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars for each day 51 during which such violation continues, and in addition thereto, such 52 shooting range may be enjoined from continuing such violation. Such 53 shooting range shall for a second violation be liable to the people of 54 the state for a civil penalty not to exceed two thousand five hundred 55 dollars for each day during which such violation continues. As used inS. 8461--B 3 1 this subdivision, the term "shooting range" shall have the same meaning 2 as such term is defined in section 37-0127 of this chapter. 3 § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 4 it shall have become a law.
