BARNSTABLE – The Barnstable County Board of Regional Commissioners is calling on Governor Maura Healey to halt the construction of the proposed Multi-Purpose Machine Gun Range at Joint Base Cape Cod amid ongoing concerns regarding the project’s environmental impact.
The Commissioners authorized an updated version of their 2021 letter outlining what they consider to be flaws with the environmental review process for the range, to be filed with the Governor’s Office by Special Counsels Greg McGregor and Luke Legere.
The contentious proposal for the range, which sits atop the Upper Cape Water Supply Reserve, stirred renewed controversy this Summer after the publishing of a National Guard ad seeking contractor bids for a scaled-down version of the range, despite its current unapproved status.
The Association to Preserve Cape Cod has since filed a complaint with Suffolk Superior Court alleging that the Guard has ignored several requests for information filed through the Freedom of Information Act as to why it has sought these bids.
“The EPA has determined that the project is an unacceptable risk to Cape Cod’s drinking water supply and the Governor can and should act now,” said Commissioner Mark Forest. “The precedent was established by former Governor Paul Cellucci, who stopped a similar project on May 19, 1998.”
“At that time, he called the proposed machine gun range a direct threat to Cape Cod’s drinking water supplies,” said Forest. “He then proceeded to help pass bi-partisan legislation creating the Upper Cape Water Supply Reserve. It is our hope the training will move down the highway at the new ranges on Fort Devens and we can avoid legislation.”
An amendment to the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act filed by Congressman Bill Keating will allow funding for the proposed range to lapse on September 30, creating a short window for the Guard to secure and approve a bid.
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