EPA Rejects Calls to Ban Lead in Ammo

This is a big victory for second amendment supporters who used the comment period lambaste the idea. The comment period was was supposed to last until the end of October, but it took just two days before the EPA said; 'enough already; we are not going to do it'. Such a regulation would have dramatically increased the cost of ammo for civilian shooters. On top of that the environmental impact they were trying to prevent was negligible anyways because civilian shooters predominantly use ranges who then collect the lead.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/08/27/epa-rejects-calls-ban-lead-ammo-fishing-tackle

"The Environmental Protection Agency has denied a petition filed by environmental activists seeking to ban lead in ammunition and fishing tackle, saying such regulation is beyond the agency's authority.

The agency's decision, announced Friday shortly after FoxNews.com published its report on the issue, sided with hunters and fishermen who had argued that the such regulations weren't allowed under the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976.

"EPA is taking action on many fronts to address major sources of lead in our society, such as eliminating childhood exposures to lead," the agency said in a written statement. "However, EPA was not and is not considering taking action on whether the lead content in hunting ammunition poses an undue threat to wildlife.""

http://hotair.com/archives/2010/08/27/epa-on-lead-ammunition-ban-never-mind

"It is an important victory, mainly from the EPA’s own admission that ammunition is outside their jurisdictional reach. Otherwise, this just brings an issue to the end it inevitably faced sooner or later. Had the EPA pursued this in this electoral cycle, they would have risked inspiring a bipartisan effort to defund the agency, which a Republican House may do anyway to stop enforcement of their ridiculous carbon-dioxide endangerment finding."