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IL Attorney General Sues Aurora Sportsmens Club For $18 Million


Lou

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It looks like Little Lisa is at it again. She sued the Buffalo Rock range and is now working to bankrupt ASC.

 

When will this tyranny ever end?

 

 

 

 

The Illinois attorney general's office has sued the Aurora Sportsmen's Club over lead shot contamination at the Bliss Woods Forest Preserve near Sugar Grove, where the club used to shoot until July 2009. The club said it is aware of the lead and has been working with authorities to clean up the site.

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20140701/news/140709817/

By Harry Hitzeman .
.
The Illinois Attorney General's office has filed a lawsuit against the Aurora Sportsmen's Club, seeking damages and cleanup of lead shot deposited on several acres at the Bliss Woods Forest Preserve, where the club used to shoot until five years ago.

The lawsuit, filed in Kane County on behalf of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the state's Environmental Protection Agency, and state's Nature Preserves Commission, seeks a $10,000-per-day fine dating back to July 2009, a total of nearly $18 million.
..
"We set forth the maximum penalty allowed by the statute in our complaint," said Maura Possley, spokeswoman for the attorney general's office. "There are also statutory factors to be considered when determining an appropriate penalty if a matter is resolved by a trial court or settlement."

But David Lombardo, the club's president, said the lawsuit is mostly a procedural move. The club is aware of the situation and has been working with authorities to resolve it, he said.

The club used to own land near Bliss Woods and lead shot accidentally fell into small patches of land during shooting events, he said.

"What we didn't realize was some of the (lead) shot was going into the woods," Lombardo said. "We're in meetings with the Attorney General's Office. We're in full agreement to work with them to resolve the issue. That's where it's at. We're not ducking it."

The club now shoots in Waterman, which is about a half-hour west of Sugar Grove.

A message left with the club's attorney, Charles Pavesich, was not returned Tuesday.

The lawsuit accuses the club of contaminating 2.5 acres of the 190-acre preserve with lead shot and violating the rules of what activities can take place in a forest preserve.

The suit also accuses the club of polluting Blackberry Creek. A sample taken in October 2013 from temporary EPA monitoring wells had reached .429 milligrams of lead per liter, which exceeded the .1 milligram per liter standard.

The lawsuit also seeks to have the club pay a $50,000 fine per EPA violation, as well as costs already incurred for monitoring, cleanup, testing and environmental consultants.

"Between approximately 1995 and July 2009, and on such other dates better known to the defendant, members of the defendant's gun club engaged in recreational shooting on the gun club site in such a manner that individual shot pellets, weathered pellets and scattered shot wads were introduced from the gun club site to the Bliss Woods Forest Preserve and Blackberry Creek," part of the suit reads. "Violations of the pertinent environmental statutes and regulations will continue until and unless this court grants equitable relief in the form of preliminary and, after trial, permanent injunctive relief."

The lawsuit states that lead shot pellets were clearly visible on the ground at the preserve in January 2013 and October 2013, and along the banks of the creek in January 2013.

Lombardo said no one has become ill because of the lead shot.

"No one has gotten sick. It's an isolated area," he said. "This is shot. It just lays there on the ground."

The parties are due in Kane County court Oct. 14.

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Its already expensive with the special assessment on renewal. However, that assessment is mainly to pay off the notes for the purchase of the current location and (I believe) cleanup activities at the old site. I'm OK with that as a current member, as I was told this at signing up.

 

However, any higher to fund an additional penalty on the activities from the old location, where and when I was not a member, will be met with me ceasing to be a member. I for one will not renew again if that happens.

 

The penalty listed in the suit works out to almost $10k per current member, and I'd hedge that most current members never shot at the old location.

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I used to shoot at the old facility on Friday nights years ago.

 

The shot does go into the woods and into the creek and the club knew it for years.

 

The old property was given to the construction company that built the berms for the new club because the club couldn't pay him.

 

Unfortunately it is a legitimate lawsuit.

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If she is smart she will offer a reasonable settlement for a smaller amount since a guaranteed amount of 1 or 2 million more or less paid over time is better than no money because the company filed bankruptcy due to inability to pay.

 

Why wouldn't an anti try to bankrupt them and shut them down, if given the opportunity?

 

It's not about the money, because if it was, we'd have non-resident issuance to all 49 states at $300 a pop and would have lawful gun ranges and stores in Chicago generating tax and licensing revenues.

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My understanding is that the city forced them to move and they ended up selling or trading the land or some such. While I'm not an attorney, and don't know if this is possible, I'm astounded that there was not a provision in the sale to address this issue. In a sale, can the seller shift the liability to the buyer? I dunno. Any type of extended litigation or a judgment against the club will bankrupt them. There's no way they can come close to paying a fraction of those fines.

 

Pretty frightening implications for any club.

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This issue was covered pretty well at the yearly meeting. My understanding is that there is a plan in place to clean up the site and the club has a contingency fund for that exact purpose. The usual environmental nonsense is what the sticking point is. They want all the lead removed but cannot so much as harm a dandelion in the process of doing so. The lead is inert, unless of course there is something that reacts with it, blah blah blah. Club leadership seems to be doing there best to resolve the issue and take responsible actions to do so. There is pressure from all directions including the current home location. Now I would imagine Lisa could find an actual polluter to pick on that is dumping toxins daily into in the environment, but that would affect daddy's friends and we can't have that.

A sporting club, literally in the middle of a cornfield cannot even be left alone by these parasites. Its a shame because the club has paid down an enormous amount of debt and if they could get past this issue really start to make some great improvements to the current location. I am gonna keep my fingers crossed and hope something good comes out of this, I was hoping to call this place home for a long time. Real shame

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A lot of digging.

 

Never worked on a lead abatement site but I have on chemical and radiologically contaminated sites. The normal procedure is to take sample bores of the area in question and have those tested in a lab. Once you define the limits of the area and the depth of the contamination, you remove the soil and its taken to a hazardous waste dump. None of this is cheap, as the people that work on site must wear PPE and be HAZWOPER certified. Its quite the involved process. Safety guys, contaminant testing, periodic blood tests of the workers, all adds to the costs of doing this sort of thing.

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A lot of digging.

 

Never worked on a lead abatement site but I have on chemical and radiologically contaminated sites. The normal procedure is to take sample bores of the area in question and have those tested in a lab. Once you define the limits of the area and the depth of the contamination, you remove the soil and its taken to a hazardous waste dump. None of this is cheap, as the people that work on site must wear PPE and be HAZWOPER certified. Its quite the involved process. Safety guys, contaminant testing, periodic blood tests of the workers, all adds to the costs of doing this sort of thing.

Yet the berms at gun clubs get periodically stripped to recover the spent bullets for re-smelting, and none of this is required. Lead in this form is almost totally inert, as is the lead used to hold the pieces of stained glass in windows, for instance. You can find soccer moms taking stained glass classes and handling (cutting, shaping, soldering) lead all the time without so much as gloves. Lead recovery is much different from chemical and radiological contamination.

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As Paul Harvey would say; Now here's the rest of the story. This is from Dave Lombardo the ASC president.
Gee, I wonder who the crack about posting negative comments on social media is aimed at?
________________________________________________________________________
The action taken by the Attorney General's office is part of a long time, on-going process that I have talked about at the general membership meetings for as long as I've been president. It revolves around the fact that in Sugar Grove our shotgun sports deposited lead shot off our property unbeknownst to us at the time. This is not about the Attorney General persecuting a gun range. It is about lead contamination outside of the Sugar Grove compound onto public lands.

This lawsuit is a part of the process that we discussed with the Attorney General in advance and knew it was coming; this was not a surprise. It is in effect a tool that the State of Illinois uses to remind us that there are other options than negotiation should ASC stop pursuing a remedy that satisfies the State.

It is important to understand that listing potential penalties in the suit does not mean those penalties will necessarily be implemented. They represent Plan B in case Plan A - ASC's cooperation - doesn't materialize. I can assure you ASC is cooperating fully.

Our negotiating team has been in close contact with the AG, has had lengthy discussions on lead remediation at the old Sugar Grove site, and is fully cooperating with the State. The attorney representing the State has been very good to work with, has not shown one iota of anti-gun bias, spent considerable time educating herself on our operation and other obligations, and wants nothing more than to get the situation resolved. There has been no indication of any interest in pursuing the possible fines provided ASC continues to take appropriate action toward the resolution of the lead issue and we are doing so.

As it happens one of our members, Frank Smith, is an expert in this field and has joined board member Craig Hernan, our attorneys and myself as part of a negotiating team representing the club. The attorney general's representative has expressed satisfaction with what we've been doing and we're currently in the process of developing a mitigation plan using a third-party firm that does site remediation professionally.

None of this is to suggest that there aren't going to be costs involved however after long talks with the AG's office we're very optimistic that ASC will be able to implement a solution that satisfies the AG. The key is for our team to continue to move forward on the development of the mitigation plan and to continue to stay in close contact with the AG. I assure you we are doing both.

Here are some thoughts about ASC in general today:

ASC is in a far better position today than it was even three years ago.

We have paid down a very significant portion of our debt obligation

we've taken the note holder issue head-on and successfully addressed their concerns with an effective on-going repayment program that has more than halved our debt in the past two years or so

we've implemented infrastructure improvements with minimal general operating fund impact

we've solved some pressing operational problems

we've made major organizational procedural changes for the better in areas such as membership recruitment and buildings and grounds

We've expanded member privileges such as drawing from the holster, moving-and-shooting and steel targets

we've added new, high profile events such as action sports and the Zombie Shoot

and now we are working closely with the Illinois Attorney General's office to resolve the lead issue in Sugar Grove

Are we clear of the icebergs? No, not yet but they've gotten a lot smaller, they're fewer and far between, and we're more like the Queen Mary today than the Titanic.

Finally, I would ask all our members to stop jumping to conclusions and posting negative comments on social media. Not once has anyone called me to ask about an issue before posting what they think is happening on Facebook and other social media outlets. What's the point of spreading misinformation unless you're intentionally trying to harm the club?

If you hear a rumor, call and ask about it. So far everything I've read about various issues has been wrong yet no one bothered to call and ask for an explanation. Let's work together for the betterment of Aurora Sportsmen's Club.

David Lombardo, President

 

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I really am curious what prevents the club from holding a monthly zombie shoot ( other than the old crew who seemingly just want a shotgun club). Open up other land at the new site for new range development that would be paid for/used by trainers. Build a hollywood ghost town facade. Make it the premier attraction for northern Illinois shooters to walk down a dusty road and engage pop up targets and charge big bucks to do it. Start a you tube program that reviews guns, training techniques, and features/plugs the facility/club. Before you know it you'll get sponsorship in exchange for banner visibility in the videos. You'll also get paid by you tube.
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I really am curious what prevents the club from holding a monthly zombie shoot ( other than the old crew who really just want a shotgun club). Open up other land at the new site for new range development that would be paid for/used by trainers. Build a hollywood ghost town facade. Make it the premier attraction for northern Illinois shooters to walk down a dusty road and engage pop up targets and charge big bucks to do it. Start a you tube program that reviews guns, training techniques, and features/plugs the facility/club. Before you know it you'll get sponsorship in exchange for banner visibility in the videos. You'll also get paid by you tube.

 

 

We do in a sense. There are monthly Practical Rifle shoots {running and gunning with ARs and the like} which are run by volunteers and logistics pretty much limits it to 30 people each in two flights, 9 and 1PM. There are always three different scenarios to shoot. You do not have to be a member to participate.

 

There's also a monthly Practical Precision league for matches out to 600 yds.

 

Your ideas are good but even these two leagues take a tremendous amount of volunteer hours to pull off. The club has moved a long way from when the focus was shotgun sports.

 

The next PR shoot is Saturday 7/19.

 

For more info see: http://aurorascpr.org/about/

 

The ranges are routinely rented out to outside entities for training purposes including many LE organizations. They could probably rent out more space except that it blocks out paying members from using the facilities they pay dearly for.

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I really am curious what prevents the club from holding a monthly zombie shoot ( other than the old crew who seemingly just want a shotgun club). Open up other land at the new site for new range development that would be paid for/used by trainers. Build a hollywood ghost town facade. Make it the premier attraction for northern Illinois shooters to walk down a dusty road and engage pop up targets and charge big bucks to do it. Start a you tube program that reviews guns, training techniques, and features/plugs the facility/club. Before you know it you'll get sponsorship in exchange for banner visibility in the videos. You'll also get paid by you tube.

We would love to have some permanent structures but we can't so much as put a shed up without zoning approval from the county, and they have been a huge roadblock and PITA. They contend that any building put up must have water and electricity. That will be a huge cost.

 

Sent from my LG-P769 using Tapatalk

 

 

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I really am curious what prevents the club from holding a monthly zombie shoot ( other than the old crew who seemingly just want a shotgun club). Open up other land at the new site for new range development that would be paid for/used by trainers. Build a hollywood ghost town facade. Make it the premier attraction for northern Illinois shooters to walk down a dusty road and engage pop up targets and charge big bucks to do it. Start a you tube program that reviews guns, training techniques, and features/plugs the facility/club. Before you know it you'll get sponsorship in exchange for banner visibility in the videos. You'll also get paid by you tube.

We would love to have some permanent structures but we can't so much as put a shed up without zoning approval from the county, and they have been a huge roadblock and PITA. They contend that any building put up must have water and electricity. That will be a huge cost.

 

Sent from my LG-P769 using Tapatalk

 

So skirt it. Don't put up buildings with four walls. Put up building faces that line a "street". No permanent structures? Every see the Amish raise a barn? The whole framework for the walls is constructed on the ground and pulled up into position. Do the same thing. Anchor some 6x6 posts into the ground and leave them there "permanently", but drop the building front when not in use. and leave it to lay flat on the ground in front. The building faces could actually be made of flimsy 2x2 framing and covered with plastic sheeting or fabric which would cut down weight and allow them to be renewed inexpensively after being shot up.

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I really am curious what prevents the club from holding a monthly zombie shoot ( other than the old crew who really just want a shotgun club). Open up other land at the new site for new range development that would be paid for/used by trainers. Build a hollywood ghost town facade. Make it the premier attraction for northern Illinois shooters to walk down a dusty road and engage pop up targets and charge big bucks to do it. Start a you tube program that reviews guns, training techniques, and features/plugs the facility/club. Before you know it you'll get sponsorship in exchange for banner visibility in the videos. You'll also get paid by you tube.

 

 

We do in a sense. There are monthly Practical Rifle shoots {running and gunning with ARs and the like} which are run by volunteers and logistics pretty much limits it to 30 people each in two flights, 9 and 1PM. There are always three different scenarios to shoot. You do not have to be a member to participate.

 

There's also a monthly Practical Precision league for matches out to 600 yds.

 

Your ideas are good but even these two leagues take a tremendous amount of volunteer hours to pull off. The club has moved a long way from when the focus was shotgun sports.

 

The next PR shoot is Saturday 7/19.

 

For more info see: http://aurorascpr.org/about/

 

The ranges are routinely rented out to outside entities for training purposes including many LE organizations. They could probably rent out more space except that it blocks out paying members from using the facilities they pay dearly for.

 

Good information and some things I didn't know. That should be troubling, because I spend at least 40 hours a week in gun enthusiast forums and this is the first time I've see this mentioned. If the club wants to make money, a little more free/inexpensive marketing on forums would take a member volunteer very little effort and could count toward their work hours with the club to maintain the postings.

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