By Peter Chawaga
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A planned military project in Massachusetts has gained the attention of federal authorities who are concerned about the impact it might have on local water consumers.
“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issues a draft determination … that a proposed machine gun training range at a National Guard base could pose a threat to Cape Cod’s drinking water, potentially creating a public health hazard for more than 22,000 year-round residents,” the Associated Press reported. “There are no reasonably available alternative drinking water sources for residents should the Cape Cod aquifer become contaminated, the agency said.”
Following a 20-month scientific review of the design for the 138-acre gun range at Joint Base Cape Cod, the U.S. EPA indicated that the risk of irreparable environmental damage to the local aquifer is too serious for approval of the project. If it sticks with that stance following a public comment period and public hearing, the proposed range won’t be eligible for federal funding.
In response, however, the Massachusetts National Guard indicated that it would challenge those findings.
“The guard also said it has commissioned research over the past decade to ensure their military training is environmentally compliant,” according to AP. “Those studies found that small-arms fire currently conducted at Camp Edwards does not impact the aquifer, the guard said.”
It seems the National Guard has a challenge ahead in convincing the EPA, local regulators, and the public that this project should move forward. And it is not only contending with the fact that the local aquifer is both desperately needed by residents; the source is also imperiled by numerous other nearby hazards.
“If the aquifer were to become contaminated, surrounding areas might need to construct and operate expensive advanced drinking water systems, overburdening communities that already face economic hardships,” per the Boston Herald. “The four towns near the requested gun range — Bourne, Falmouth, Sandwich and Mashpee — are already grappling with an aquifer susceptible to contamination from other sources, like chemical spills, highway runoff, septic tanks and leaking storage tanks.”
It may seem unlikely that the EPA is willing to burden these consumers with another threat to their drinking water quality, but there is still time for the National Guard to convince regulators that its proposal wouldn’t do so.
To read more about how regulators work to protect drinking water quality from environmental hazards, visit Water Online’s Source Water Contamination Solutions Center.
