More Bullets, More Problems

Lead contamination at Kincaid Park's old biathlon shooting range has tangled up the construction of a multimillion-dollar soccer stadium.

State, city and federal officials met Thursday to discuss what to do about lead-contaminated dirt that remains at the former shooting range.

A volunteer-run organization fell afoul of state and federal rules for hazardous-waste management two years ago when its contractors excavated, stockpiled and regraded some of the contaminated dirt without regulatory approval.

The volunteer organization, called the Kincaid Project Group, had been preparing to transform the firing range into a $3 million artificial-turf soccer stadium. The project was just one component of the group's $11 million project to upgrade trails, build a soccer complex and add other recreational facilities at the park.

The excavation at the shooting range was a costly error that still has not been fully resolved. Two years ago, the federal Environmental Protection Agency took charge of the cleanup. The EPA filed a notice of violation against the city and the Kincaid Project Group for the unauthorized stockpile of contaminated dirt. The group says it and the city spent $75,000 to ship 78 tons of dirt laced with lead bullet fragments to a Lower 48 landfill.

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