Relates to the regulation of municipal shooting ranges, including limiting the hours of operation and addressing noise pollution; directs the department of health to conduct a study describing the contaminants and other pollutants in the ground and water bodies adjacent to certain shooting ranges.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5351
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 2, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sen. FERNANDEZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to municipal
shooting ranges; and directing the department of health to conduct a
study describing the contaminants and other pollutants in the ground
and water bodies adjacent to certain shooting ranges
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The general municipal law is amended by adding a new
2 section 97-a to read as follows:
3 § 97-a. Municipal shooting ranges. 1. All shooting ranges owned or
4 used by a municipality, including shooting ranges used by law enforce-
5 ment for training purposes, shall only be in operation between eight
6 a.m. and eight p.m. and only operate one weekend per month.
7 2. Such shooting ranges shall be fully enclosed with proper sound
8 abatement and any bombs detonated at such shooting range shall be
9 performed in a fully enclosed area. Any noise or noise pollution
10 resulting from the activity on such shooting range shall be in compli-
11 ance with any applicable noise control laws or ordinances, or, if the
12 applicable noise control laws or ordinances have no legal force and
13 effect against such owner or user or there are no applicable noise
14 control laws or ordinances at the time of the effective date of this
15 section, then the A-weighted sound level of small arms fire on the
16 shooting range shall not exceed 90 dB(A) for one hour out of a day, or
17 shall not exceed 80 dB(A) for eight hours out of a day measured at, or
18 adjusted to, a distance of one hundred feet outside the real property
19 boundary of the shooting range.
20 3. For the purposes of this section:
21 (a) "Shooting range" shall mean a range equipped with targets for use
22 with firearms and shall include, but not be limited to, all rifle,
23 pistol and shotgun ranges and ranges used for training law enforcement,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07975-01-3
S. 5351 2
1 including ranges used for automatic and semiautomatic weapons and the
2 detonation of bombs.
3 (b) "A-weighted sound level" shall mean the sound pressure level meas-
4 ured by the use of an instrument with the metering characteristics and
5 A-weighting frequency response prescribed by sound level meters using
6 the impulse response mode.
7 (c) "Sound pressure level" shall mean twenty times the logarithm to
8 the base ten of the ratio of the root mean squared pressure of a sound
9 to a reference pressure of twenty micropascals. The unit applied to this
10 measure shall be the decibel (dB).
11 (d) "Small arms" shall mean projectile firearms of small caliber,
12 including rifles, pistols and shotguns.
13 § 2. The department of health, with the assistance of the department
14 of environmental conservation, shall conduct a study describing the
15 contaminants and other pollutants in the ground and water bodies that
16 are adjacent to each shooting range owned or used by a municipality,
17 including any shooting ranges used by law enforcement for training
18 purposes. The department of health shall deliver a written report of its
19 findings to the governor and the legislature one year after the effec-
20 tive date of this act. The department shall also establish a remediation
21 plan, if needed, and shall make such a plan readily available on the
22 department's website.
23 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
