Opponents of a proposed machine gun range on Joint Base Cape Cod are celebrating today, after seeing the annual defense authorization bill because it contains no additional funds for the controversial project.
See all of CAI's reporting on the proposed machine gun range here.
The $886 billion legislation includes aid for Ukraine, authorizes funding for a foreign surveillance program, and it offers a 5.2 percent pay raise for military personnel.
But it says nothing about bridging a funding gap to help the Massachusetts Army National Guard pay for the controversial project.
Earlier this year, contractors informed the Guard it would cost roughly $15 million to build the not-yet-approved range — significantly more than the $9.7 million Congress previously authorized.
Since that information became public, environmentalists at the Association to Preserve Cape Cod lobbied members of the state’s congressional delegation to fight funding for the project in the National Defense Authorization Act passed yesterday.
They say the range could contaminate drinking water and create a significant public health threat to Cape Codders — a fear backed up by a draft report from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Guard officials, asked whether they lobbied in favor of funding in the legislation, did not provide additional information.
