Disclaimer, Notice of Closure and Site Cleanup Laws

Shooting ranges must be maintained and cleared periodically as a part of regular range maintenance to prevent hazards from the buildup of spent bullets and toxic metal fragments in bullet traps and berms. Upon closure of a shooting range, and possibly sooner, the bullet traps and berm soil are considered waste, subject to hazardous waste identification requirements. The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) may require the shooting range owner or operator to investigate or remediate any release of a hazardous substance into the environment at or from the shooting range pursuant to California Health and Safety Code section 79130(a). Regardless of whether the shooting range is operating or closed, if DTSC determines that the release of hazardous waste or hazardous contaminants, including ammunition fired at the range that lands offsite and remains unretrieved, may pose a threat to public health or to the environment, DTSC may require the shooting range owner or operator to investigate or remediate any releases under Health and Safety Code sections 25200.10, 25187, 79130(a), 79055 and 78870. In addition, if it is determined that activities at a shooting range cause harm to the public health or the environment, then such activities can be subject to the federal corrective action requirements for cleanup and citizen lawsuits [Title 42 United States Code sections 7002 and 7003, Nuisance laws (Civil Code 3479)]. Other local environmental protection laws may also apply.

Purpose of this Guidance

This shooting range waste maintenance guidance was developed by DTSC to provide useful guidance for shooting range owners and operators in California. Indoor and outdoor shooting ranges primarily generate used or fired ammunition and other related materials contaminated with toxic metal fragments and fines. These used or fired ammunition and toxic metals-contaminated materials may be subject to California Hazardous Waste Control Laws and implementing regulations when these materials become wastes. The primary purpose of this guidance is to clarify when the used or fired ammunition and toxic contaminated materials become wastes, and potentially hazardous wastes, at shooting ranges and the lawful options for managing those shooting range wastes. This guidance also describes which shooting range waste activities are considered maintenance, hazardous waste generation or treatment, and the applicable statutory or regulatory exemptions from hazardous waste management requirements.

General Principles

• DTSC recommends proper shooting range maintenance (ammunition waste removal) and encourages range owners or operators to follow lead management practices as described in the federal guidance manual entitled, Best Management Practices for Lead at Outdoor Shooting Ranges (BMP).
• Firing a munition is not considered a hazardous waste generation or disposal activity because it is using a product for its intended purpose. Therefore, the fired ammunition is not a waste immediately upon firing. However, used ammunition in backstop materials, if left to accumulate long after serving its intended purpose (not recovered regularly), can be considered ‘discarded’ (abandoned) and therefore a waste.
• Fired bullets, bullet fragments and metal fines recovered from shooting range maintenance activities become waste when collected and recovered and then become subject to hazardous waste identification requirements.
• The shooting range management options for collected bullets, bullet fragments and recovered metal fines include, but are not limited to, recycling (onsite or offsite), reuse, and designated for disposal as described below under Regulatory Status of Shooting Range Waste in California and detailed in the federal BMP.
• The shooting range maintenance activities contemplated under this guidance include the physical collection and recovery of bullets, bullet fragments or metal fines by sweeping, sifting, sieving, or similar measures from the ground surface, berms, bullet back stops, or traps. The shooting ranges are advised to maintain a schedule of regular maintenance activities.
• These shooting range maintenance activities would not typically require a hazardous waste permit or other form of authorization. However, other environmental and employee safety and protection laws and requirements may apply. The shooting range workers conducting range maintenance activities should wear proper protective gear and breathing apparatus and follow Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements to avoid lead dust exposure.
• During shooting range maintenance activities, before relocating the backstop material (e.g., berm soil) of outdoor ranges and collection bins of indoor ranges, the removal of bullet or bullet fragments is considered a good range management practice. Furthermore, the records of berm movement should be maintained until shooting range closure or subsequent construction.
• Once shooting range maintenance activities are complete, the backstop material or material used in collection bins, if placed back on the range, is exempted from hazardous waste management requirements. However, if the backstop materials or collection bin materials are to be removed off-site, then it must be tested to determine if it is hazardous or not.
• After a shooting range is closed, the backstop materials are considered waste which are subject to hazardous waste identification.

Shooting range activities and types of hazardous materials encountered

Figure 1. Components of Ammunition

Ammunition Components

The basic components of ammunition commonly used at shooting ranges are the case, primer, gunpowder and bullet (Figure 1). The case holds the contents of the ammunition and is usually made of brass, steel or copper. For shotgun shells, the case also consists of plastic. The primer is the explosive chemical that lights the gunpowder. When the gunpowder ignites, it is converted to a gas that ultimately fires the bullet. The bullet, typically made of lead, is the object expelled from the gun.

When ammunition is fired, the gunpowder and the reactive component of the primer are mostly consumed. As a result, after ammunition is fired, the bullet and bullet fragments land closer to or past the target, and the other components remain closer to where the ammunition was fired. These latter items include metal and plastic casings, ammunition fragments and gunpowder (e.g., primer residues). In cases where the ammunition fails to fire, duds (unfired ammunitions) will also be present.

As noted above, lead, copper or other toxic contaminants are common heavy metals found in ammunition. Lead and copper are regulated hazardous constituents under California Hazardous Waste Control Law and its implementing regulations.

Indoor Shooting Range Operations

Generally, indoor shooting ranges have a row of shooting stations with a target for each station (Figure 2). Behind each target is a bullet trap (i.e., backstop), which includes an angled steel deflector, or other type of trap or stop. Upon impacting the bullet trap, the bullet will typically fragment and collect in troughs of water or similar collection bins (sand or water pits) that run along the floor. As part of regular shooting range maintenance, these collection units need to be emptied periodically to preserve unit capacity, to collect and store the fragments and fines, and to minimize ricochet potential.

Figure 2. Indoor Shooting Range

Other materials contaminated with used or fired ammunition are also generated during the maintenance of indoor shooting ranges, including:

• Spent ventilation air filters used to minimize air pollutants (e.g., high efficiency particulate air filter or “HEPA” filters);
• Water used in range cleaning;
• Used protective clothing and supplies (e.g., gloves, suits, masks and rags); and
• Vacuum dusts and floor sweep.

Outdoor Shooting Range Operations

At outdoor shooting ranges, targets are commonly placed in front of a berm composed of sand or soil (Figure 3). Bullets pass through or around the targets and embed in the berm. Over time, as bullets accumulate in the berm, its effectiveness as a safe stopping mechanism declines. To minimize the risk of bullets ricocheting when they strike the berm, the embedded, spent bullets and fragments must be periodically removed during periodic shooting range maintenance activities. This removal process is typically accomplished by sifting or sieving the sand or soil and bullet mixture to remove the bullets and bullet fragments. The sieved sand or soil is then returned to the berm location.

Figure 3. Outdoor Shooting Range

Regulatory status of shooting range waste in California

In California, the Hazardous Waste Control Law is the statutory scheme applied in addition to the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Consistent with the federal law, DTSC considers firing of a munition to be use of a product for its intended purpose, and not a hazardous waste generation or disposal activity. Therefore, upon use or when fired, ammunition is not considered a waste when it hits the shooting range grounds or backstops because this activity is part of its intended use. DTSC considers the collection and separation of ammunition and ammunition components to be shooting range maintenance activities and not hazardous waste management activities so long as human health and the environment are protected from releases and exposure to those hazardous constituents as described in the federal BMP.

Shooting Range Waste Subject to Hazardous Waste Identification

Under California’s Hazardous Waste Control Law, used or fired bullets are considered waste after the shooting range maintenance activities of their recovery, collection and removal from their landing sites, including berms. The reason is that the owner or operator of the shooting range is then actively managing the waste for the sole purpose of discard through disposal or recycling. Thus, the collected wastes, such as bullets and bullet fragments, are subject to the hazardous waste identification requirements. Similarly, used and fired munitions collected during recovery and collection are also considered waste when any of the following occur: (1) after removing from the landing spot and are either managed off-range or disposed of on-range; or (2) land off-range and are not promptly retrieved. Therefore, recovered and collected munitions that are waste are subject to hazardous waste identification under both state and federal law. Shooting ranges that generate hazardous waste are subject to hazardous waste generator requirements. The type and volume of ammunition-derived wastes generated (e.g., used or fired ammunition and other contaminated materials) vary based on the type of shooting range. When a shooting range is closed or abandoned, the hazardous waste identification requirements also apply to other contaminated waste such as berm soil or backstop materials, floor sweepings, vacuum waste, metal fines, contaminated rags and used ventilation filters.

Hazardous Waste Management Requirements and Exemptions

If the waste bullets, bullet fragments and other wastes that contaminated with lead, copper or fine powder (i.e., “range wastes”) are identified as hazardous waste, then these wastes are subject to California hazardous waste management requirements unless the waste are excluded or exempted from regulation as hazardous waste. The range waste, when legitimately recycled and not disposed, may meet the California definition of scrap metal and therefore, may be exempted from hazardous waste management requirements. However, if range wastes include fine powder (less than 100 microns) and dust which exhibit the hazardous waste characteristic of toxicity, or are contaminated with listed waste, then these range wastes are subject to hazardous waste management requirements. As hazardous waste generators, shooting range owners and operators are responsible for determining whether their waste is hazardous. For more information, please see hazardous waste generator requirements.

Consistent with the federal law, an unused ammunition becomes a waste in California when abandoned, removed from storage for disposal or treatment prior to disposal, deteriorated/damaged/leaking, or determined to be a waste.

Corrective or Remedial Action Authorities

Similar to the application of federal corrective or remedial action requirements, shooting ranges in California may also be subject to corrective or remedial action to address the contaminated ammunition waste under federal and California law (Title 42 United States Code sections 3004 (u) and (v), Health and Safety Code sections 25200.10, 25187, 79130(a) and 79055). Consistent with the federal law (Federal Register, Vol. 62, No. 29, dated February 12, 1997, page 6632), when used or fired ammunition lands off-range and are not promptly retrieved, this material is considered a discarded material (i.e., waste) and subject to hazardous waste identification requirements. If this shooting range waste exhibits a characteristic of hazardous waste or is contaminated with a listed hazardous waste, it is also subject to imminent and substantial endangerment authorities (Health and Safety Code section 78870) in addition to the corrective action authorities and remedial actions.

The regulatory status of shooting range activities and shooting range wastes are described below in Tables 1 and 2.

Table 1. Status of Shooting Range Activities under California Hazardous Waste Control Law

Table 2. Status of Shooting Range Wastes under California Hazardous Waste Control Law

References

¹ California Code of Regulations, title 22, section 66260.10
² California Code of Regulations, title 22, section 66261.6(a)(3)(B)

If you have any questions regarding the above guidance, please contact Regulatory Assistance Office of DTSC at 800-728-6942 or RAO@dtsc.ca.gov