Opinion ID: 1213767
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Metacon Site

Text: Metacon has operated a private outdoor shooting range at its present location on 106 Nod Road in Simsbury, Connecticut since the mid-1960s. Metacon's range is located on 137 acres of woods, meadows, wetlands and mountainside, and is situated on a flood plain of the Farmington River Valley. The site is bounded to the north by the Connecticut State Police pistol and rifle ranges, to the west by Nod Road and the Farmington River, to the south by a residence and a golf course, and to the east by a cliff that runs along the entire eastern property boundary. SAPS provided evidence that, due to flooding at the site and overflow of the Farmington River, there is an occasional hydrologic connection between waters on the Metacon site and the Farmington River. SAPS also provided limited evidence of a continuous surface water connection between wetlands on the Metacon site and a body of water called Horseshoe Cove, a tributary that flows directly into the Farmington River. Metacon provided evidence to the contrary. Metacon has a 100-yard shooting range at the back of which stands an engineered earthen berm for bullet containment. There is evidence indicating that wetlands on the Metacon site are located in close proximity to the berm and on unspecified portions of the shooting range. Metacon's Environmental Stewardship Plan states that [a] vernal pond is located directly in back of the backstop berm, and wetlands border the range immediately to the North and extend East beyond the berm for approximately 100 yards. J.A. at 211. Further, the District Engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers provided Metacon with a permit to expand its berm in 1990. The permit described the project location as wetlands adjacent to the Farmington River. Id. at 467.