Sebastopol Gun Club is in search of a new home after its shooting range was declared contaminated from years of lead poisoning.
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The Environmental Protection Authority has ordered the club to undertake a study of the land on the eastern edge Marty Busch Recreation Reserve and the Yarrowee trail.
It does not affect football ovals or the BMX track to the shooting range’s west.
The study requested by the EPA could cost between $50,000 and $150,000, an amount the club cannot afford without help.
Club secretary Neil Haydon said a finding new home had been discussed with Ballarat City Council.
“We have got nowhere to go basically, we are in recess at the moment until we go through a process of identifying a site,” he said.
“If it is like the Ballarat saleyards, it could be between one and 10 years before that happens.
“Selecting a site for a gun club is quite complex, no one wants it in their backyard.
“If you have 500 acres somewhere let us know and we will set up in the middle of it.”
The 63-year-old club has been closed since the EPA first connected the contamination to shooting in October last year.
A new firing range would have to be on property with a flat surface where run-off will not leak into creeks and rivers.
It also has to be far enough away from homes that noise does not affect residents.
Mr Haydon said the current range’s location on the side of a hill contributed to the contamination.
“One of the main things with lead is you can clean it up fairly easily if you find a flat site for the range,” he said.
“There is machinery that can be brought in that picks up the lead and actually manages the range.
“You are looking for a flat site – somewhere you can recover and reclaim the lead on a continuing basis.”
The state government recently announced a $3 million fund to help gun clubs across the state clean up contamination.
Mr Haydon said the club was hopeful it would receive some of that money for the environmental study of Marty Busch Reserve.
“We are a voluntary sporting club, not unlike the others in Ballarat, we are not of means in a financial sense to really fund something like that,” he said.
“This is a big issue nationally where you have these ranges everywhere, and they all vary in terms of their risk profile and the risks they pose for the environment.”
