Simsbury-Avon Pres. Society v. Metacon Gun Club, Inc.

Jul 31: In the U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, Case No. 07-0795. Plaintiffs-Appellants (Simsbury-Avon) brought suit against Defendants-Appellees Metacon Gun Club, Inc., and its members and guests (collectively referred to as Metacon) for violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA, and the Clean Water Act (CWA), resulting from the discharge and accumulation of lead shot on Metacon’s property. Plaintiffs-Appellants now appeal from several decisions of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut, dismissing their claims.

The Appeals Court said, "We defer to the EPA’s interpretation of the applicable RCRA permit regulations, and hold that they do not apply to the regular, intended use of lead shot on a shooting range. Therefore, we conclude that the district court properly dismissed Plaintiffs-Appellants’ claim based on the alleged disposal of hazardous waste without a RCRA permit, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 6925(a). We also hold that the Plaintiffs-Appellants have failed to adduce sufficient evidence to create a material issue of fact regarding whether lead contamination on the shooting range constitutes 'an imminent and substantial endangerment to health or the environment.' 42 U.S.C. § 6972(a)(1)(B). Thus, we affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment to Metacon on Plaintiffs-Appellants’ RCRA 'imminent and substantial endangerment' claim. Finally, we hold that the Plaintiffs-Appellants failed to set forth sufficient evidence to create a material issue of fact as to whether the gun club is discharging lead shot into 'navigable waters' from a 'point source.' 33 U.S.C. § 1362(12). Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment to Metacon on Plaintiffs-Appellants’ CWA permit claim."

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