Machine Gun Range

For more than a dozen years, the Massachusetts Army National Guard has been fighting to build a machine gun range on Joint Base Cape Cod. But in the past month, the project seems to have collapsed. So how did that happen, is it really over — and what happens next?

The Guard needed to spend $9.7 million from Congress on the range by Sept. 30, but with Healey's decision, Guard officials will be forced to watch the money expire.

Activists and local officials are urging the Governor to intervene in the Massachusetts Army National Guard’s plan to build the range before a building contract is awarded.

The Environmental Protection Agency and Massachusetts Army National Guard plan to gather with experts this fall to discuss potential impacts of a proposed machine gun range to the Sagamore lens, a major aquifer that provides drinking water to the Upper Cape.

The Association to Preserve Cape Cod has filed a complaint with Suffolk Superior Court, saying the Massachusetts Army National Guard has ignored nine Freedom of Information Act requests. The group wants to know why the guard repeatedly sought contractor bids for building a range while still lacking critical state approval for the project.

The Massachusetts Army National Guard’s ad, which ran in the Cape Cod Times on Friday, July 19, calls for a contractor that can build a three-lane shooting range — despite earlier plans to build an eight-lane range.

Speaking to CAI, Senator Elizabeth Warren said she “guarantees” the Environmental Protection Agency will be able to finish its efforts to study the effects of a proposed machine gun range on Joint Base Cape Cod before any money is allotted for its construction.

"My position has always been that we need to follow the science. The EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] is currently working to determine the environmental impact of a proposed machine gun range project at Camp Edwards — a review that I requested to safeguard Cape Cod's sole-source aquifer,” Warren said in a statement. “I oppose any effort to move forward with the gun range until the EPA reaches its final determination, including extending authorities in the annual defense policy bill."

The Massachusetts Army National Guard had until September 30 to spend $9.7 million on construction, but the project has yet to receive final approval from state officials. The Guard sought to extend the funding by one year, until September 30th, 2025. But now, if the Senate follows the House’s lead, the funds will expire in just over four months.

A new front has opened in the Massachusetts National Guard’s years-long effort to build a controversial machine gun range on Joint Base Cape Cod. Newly disclosed emails reveal the Guard is leveling accusations against the Environmental Protection Agency, and trying to cut the EPA out of the process.