Government plans to hand shooting range permits to police

The Finnish government plans to transfer environmental permits for shooting ranges to the National Police Board, even though the board says it lacks environmental expertise and staff for the work, Yle reports.

The proposed changes are intended to make it easier to establish and maintain shooting ranges. The government says permitting practices vary between municipalities, which currently issue the environmental permits. The National Police Board already handles shooting range permits, and the bill argues that concentrating permits in one authority would be practical.

The board opposes the transfer. Its senior inspector, Jukka Hertell, says it lacks the skills and experience needed to handle environmental protection matters. He also questions whether staff could be recruited and trained quickly enough for a new permit process. The bill estimates the work would require two full-time positions, which Hertell considers insufficient if compliance with permit conditions must also be monitored.

The Ministry of the Environment has proposed transferring the permits to the Permit and Supervisory Agency, which already has environmental expertise. The government’s proposal also identifies that agency as a possible alternative, but names the National Police Board as its preferred authority. The Ministry of the Environment has raised concerns about environmental harm and reduced opportunities for consultation. The Ministry of the Interior does not expect the changes to lower the level of environmental protection.

Getting an environmental permit can be difficult for a small shooting range. In Oulu, the Oulunsalo shotgun range was closed last year after its permit was denied. The range had operated at its current location since 1990. The reasons for refusing the permit included noise and the risk of pollution to soil and water; the range is in a groundwater area.

The range has not used lead shot for years, but tens of tonnes of lead have accumulated in the surrounding environment. The Administrative Court has also said that replacement shot materials and clay targets may contain chemicals whose effects are unknown.

Sakari Drees, secretary of the Oulu-region shotgun shooters’ club, said its previous environmental permit application cost about 30,000 euros. Permit fees are typically thousands of euros, with extensive studies sometimes required as well. The club now has about 40 members, down from several hundred before the range closed.

The club’s chair, Esa Heinonen, said the proposed law could make it possible for shooting to resume at the range. But if the permit process remains unpredictable, he said, the club will not continue developing it. An environmental permitting project has identified unpredictability, room for interpretation and regional differences as key problems.

Under the government’s proposal, the risk of soil or groundwater pollution would not be considered present when a permit holder followed the requirements and best available techniques.