Save money or increase risk? Council of States committee wants to relax noise regulations for firing ranges
The Security Policy Committee of the Council of States is planning to relax the noise protection regulations for weapons ranges and firing ranges. This decision is polarizing, as there are already numerous exceptions.
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- The Council of States committee wants to relax the noise regulations for shooting ranges in order to save costs for noise protection measures.
- Despite many existing exceptions, the proposal is meeting with resistance.
- Around 40 out of 140 shooting ranges in Switzerland are too noisy.
- There are already many exceptions where soundproof windows are financed for residents, which makes the savings effect of the new regulation questionable.
The Security Policy Committee of the Council of States has proposed relaxing the noise protection regulations for weapons and shooting ranges. This measure is intended to help save money that would otherwise be spent on noise protection renovations.
As Andrea Gmür, member of the Lucerne Council of States and President of the Committee, told "SRF", this should also ensure realistic and credible training conditions for recruits, especially in times of growing global uncertainty.
40 firing ranges are too loud
The Commission is almost unanimously behind this proposal. The only exception is the Solothurn SP member of the Council of States Franziska Roth. She believes that the army should have other priorities and argues that the army would be better off preparing for natural disasters, hybrid attacks and terrorist threats instead of focusing on armed conflicts at home.
Currently, around 40 of the 140 firing ranges in Switzerland are problematic for local residents due to high noise levels. The Department of Defense DDPS has taken measures such as the construction of noise barriers, insulated halls and the use of firing simulators to reduce the noise.
According to the law, this work must be completed by next year. Gmür argues that relaxed regulations could make these expensive protective measures superfluous and thus make additional savings possible.
Relaxation of regulations has not yet resulted in any savings
Franziska Roth, however, vehemently disagrees and describes the proposal as dishonest and unnecessary. She emphasizes that noise protection is important and that relaxing the regulations would not bring any significant savings.
There are already many exceptions to the noise regulations that do not allow the army to take all the necessary measures. Exemptions have been approved for over half of the noisy firing ranges, with the DDPS at least providing residents with soundproof windows. This shows that relaxed regulations would hardly have any additional savings effect.