CUSTER, Wash. — A neighbor of a gun club with multiple shooting ranges in the 3000 block of Birch Bay-Lynden Road reported having complained for years about errant bullets ending up on his property but nothing was done. After he notified the Whatcom County Health and Community Services (WCHCS) an investigation was launched.
The facility is frequented by civilians and law enforcement personnel and is currently the only open shooting range in Whatcom County while the indoor Plantation Shooting Range remains closed since 2021 for lead contamination mitigation.
WCHCS says they have investigated complaints of bullets and bullet fragments on properties adjacent to the gun club property since July 2023. The agencies’ concerns were not so much about the danger of flying bullets but the pollution they create.
WCHCS recently issued a Notice of Violation to the gun club.
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After an extensive investigation, Whatcom County Health and Community Services (WCHCS) has issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) to Custer Sportsman’s Club (CSC) because lead bullets and lead bullet fragments continue to escape the range property and land on a neighboring property. Lead bullet fragments generated by range activities are considered a solid waste. CSC is required by law to ensure that solid waste created by activities at the range are properly contained and managed on its property. (WAC 173-350-025).
The department’s multi-year investigation found more than a hundred bullets and bullet fragments on an adjacent property. Health and Community Services was in regular communication with CSC during that time and continued to find stray bullets and bullet fragments. On October 23, 2025, WCHCS held an administrative hearing with CSC representatives and reviewed all the evidence collected before issuing a NOV last week.
The notice gives CSC until Dec. 30, 2025, to achieve full compliance and ensure that no bullets or bullet fragments escape the range. It also requires CSC to provide a corrective action plan explaining how it will maintain compliance. If bullets or bullet fragments are found on neighboring properties after Dec. 30, CSC could be fined up to $125 per day for each day that escaped bullets or bullet fragments are found on neighboring properties.
– Whatcom County Health and Community Services (December 2, 2025)
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The investigation included laying tarps out on the ground of a neighboring property to see if bullets and/or fragments could be found on the tarps, indicating they had been recently fired and not from past activity.
OBSERVATION ON JUNE 26, 2025:
During installation of the new black tarp, two WCHCS staff members directly observed a bullet fragment land on the tarp only a few feet away while active shooting was occurring at the range. This event provided clear evidence that the bullet fragments were originating from Custer Sportsmen’s Club and not from neighboring activities.– Whatcom County Health and Community Services staff report (November 20, 2025)
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