Healey rejects Cape Cod machine gun range proposal

Local news

The decision comes after years of debate between environmental groups and the Massachusetts National Guard.

Gov. Maura Healey on Monday halted the proposed multipurpose machine gun range at Camp Edwards on Joint Base Cape Cod by announcing she would not approve the construction contract for the project.

The Healey-Driscoll Administration, in a statement, said it is committed to protecting the environment while ensuring the Massachusetts National Guard has the resources it needs to do its job.

Healey said he did not sign the contract to develop the multipurpose machine gun range because the funding “has not been reauthorized and the project was still under review.”

“Our administration remains committed to working with General (Gary) Keefe and his team and our Congressional delegation to meet the long-term training needs of the National Guard,” Healey said in a statement.

According to WCAI, the $9.7 million allocated by the federal government to the project expired on September 30 after U.S. Rep. Bill Keating and Sen. Elizabeth Warren fought a funding extension in the House and Senate.

To meet the deadline and after failed attempts to get a contract on budget, the Guard had placed a new ad in the Cape Cod Times in July requesting a scaled-down, lower-cost version of the project, reducing it from eight to three lanes.

Barnstable County officials, who opposed the project, applauded the governor’s actions.

“We appreciate that the Governor and her staff have listened to Cape Codders’ concerns and supported our efforts to protect our drinking water supplies,” Barnstable County Commissioner Mark Forest said in a statement.

The proposed shooting range was scheduled to be built on top of the Upper Cape Water Supply Reserve, the Cape’s only aquifer source, which provides water to more than 210,000 residents year-round.

In April, the EPA issued a draft determination stating that the proposed project has the “potential to contaminate the aquifer” and create a “significant public health hazard.”

The report confirmed many of the concerns of opponents, such as those of the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, a nonprofit organization that works to protect the environment.

Andrew Gottlieb, the organization’s executive director, said one concern was the clearing of nearly two acres of forested land and setting aside another 5,000 acres as a danger zone for off-target bullets.

Gottlieb said the second concern was the large volume of ammunition left on the ground outside the containment area. Although the bullets are made of copper, the accelerant and ignition compounds could affect the Cape’s water resources.

With an estimated 1.2 million bales deposited in the ground each year, over time, that volume of compounds “would endanger the water supply,” he said.

The Massachusetts National Guard did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

However, the Boston Globe reported that the Guard said the project was critical to maintaining the readiness of its Soldiers and that they had “coordinated extensively” with agencies, including the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Division of Fish and Wildlife, and were “fully committed.” ” with state authorities and federal environmental reviews.

The Guard also said it now has a program dedicated to environmental issues, ensuring training ranges are sustainable and do not harm rare species or “other sensitive resources.”

Additionally, the Guard said transferring 260 acres of land on the base to the adjacent Crane Wildlife Management area would offset carbon emissions from the lost trees.

Gottlieb said the long saga, which has lasted for years, is finally over, at least for now.

If the Massachusetts National Guard wants to pursue the project again, it must get funding from Congress, which already passed the National Defense Authorization Act of 2025 without this project.

“I think this is the end during the Healey administration,” Gottlieb said.

However, he said, “we will be watching,” since, he says, the National Guard often does not “share with the community what their intentions are.”