Feds sued over N. Chicago gun range

An environmental group is suing the FBI to stop lead bullets form being fired into Lake Michigan from the North Chicago shooting range.

The suit by Blue Eco Legal Council, filed in federal court, seeks a court order to halt outdoor live-fire exercises.

The group claims the bullets damage natural resources and cause a public nuisance. Also, the suit alleges possible lead contamination of the town's water supply.

The U.S. Justice Department, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Navy, Marines and Department of Defense are named in the suit.

Officials for Blue Eco Legal Council did not return phone calls Thursday.

Ross Rice, an FBI spokesman, would not comment on the lawsuit but said it is virtually impossible for a round of ammunition to wind up in Lake Michigan.

"I've shot there four times a year for the last 20 years, and you would have to intentionally aim a weapon to put a round in Lake Michigan," Rice said. "There are no targets we shoot at where rounds are intentionally going into Lake Michigan."

He said a 12-foot high and 20-foot wide earthen wall was substantially rebuilt in the past two years to block all bullets from entering the lake.

In a news release, Blue Eco attorneys said the training range is designed to use more than 2,900 acres of Lake Michigan as an impact area for discarded lead bullets.

"We hope to bring an immediate end to the FBI's callous disregard for our health," Blue Eco attorney Steven B. Pollack said in the release. "This is simply another case of the federal government believing they are above the law."