No permission granted for indoor gun range in Subryanville – EPA

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says it has not granted permission for the establishment of an indoor commercial gun range at Lot 2 & 4 Subryanville, Georgetown.

Residents of the community had expressed concerns over this development since Subryanville is a residential area and the advent of the gun range will create noise pollution, increase traffic and may trigger the establishment of other forms of businesses.

The EPA, in a statement to the media Thursday, explained that it has not granted an Environmental Authorisation for the project and that it is still engaging the agency’s attention.

The EPA had published a notice advising that the project is exempt from an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) but it explained that this is not an indication that the initiative is automatically approved.

“The publication is only one aspect of the Agency’s statutory environmental authorization process. There are other requirements that the Agency may request of the proposed development before making a decision to approve or reject a project. Public participation and input is a critical and important aspect of this process,” EPA stated.

Jules Singh submitted an application to the EPA for a proposed indoor gun range project on November 7, 2017.

EPA explained that based on the information in the application and other supporting documents, it determined that the project will not significantly affect the environment, and as such, was exempt from requiring an EIA.

In this regard, the EPA said the next step in the process would be to publish a notice for 30 days to provide an opportunity for any member of the public who may be affected by the project to lodge an appeal against the decision to exempt the initiative from an EIA.

“The 30-day Public Notice expired on December 23, 2017. During this time, the Agency received objections and concerns from members of the public on the proposed project,” the EPA said.

The Agency said these concerns are being reviewed and will be taken into consideration in determining whether or not an Environmental Authorisation will be granted.