Yellowknife (Dec 05/03) - The Yellowknife Shooting Club is looking to renew its land lease.

But before the city grants a new 20-year lease to the shooting club, it is considering having an environmental assessment done on the land.

The club is located near Sammy's Beach at the sand pits along Highway 3.

Coun. Kevin O'Reilly said the city may someday want to take back the land for other uses.

"I think it's only prudent for council to consider who will pay for the ultimate cleanup of the site," O'Reilly said. The city would be required to give the club three years' notice should they want the land, he noted.

A Phase 1, level 1 environmental assessment would involve an inspection of the land and information on what would be required to remediate the site, O'Reilly added.

Barry Taylor, president of the gun club, said a lot of questions must be answered to convince him of the reasoning behind the need for either an assessment or a cash deposit for remediation.

"We inherited lead from the original gun range," he pointed out.

Taylor also questioned whether other clubs would be subjected to the same scrutiny.

"We are the only approved gun range in the Northwest Territories. The RCMP, DND and Fisheries all use it," Taylor said of the club, which has about 250 members.

"This is a typical bureaucratic bunch of blunders."

Council will discuss the matter further Dec. 8.