Facts
The company [C.] operates the 300-m shooting range 'Hostetten', built in 1932, in the municipality of Oberdorf (Canton of Nidwalden). In 2002 the Nidwalden cantonal authorities ordered noise remediation measures, namely a limit of 14.5 weighted shooting half-days and a level correction of -18.9 dB, and granted time-limited remediation relief. In 2007 the shooting half-days were adjusted to 16.5 and the level correction to -18.5 dB; the remaining exceedance of the noise immission limit values was relieved until 31 December 2017.
On 2 April 2016 the company [C.] applied for an extension of the relief while keeping 16.5 weighted shooting half-days. On 21 December 2017 the Department of Agriculture and Environment of the Canton of Nidwalden granted relief limited to 15.5 shooting half-days, a level correction of -19.0 dB, a time limit from the 2018 shooting season until 31 December 2027, and revocation if a compliant range becomes available in the canton.
[A.] and [B.], owners of the affected property, appealed to the Cantonal Government, which on 28 August 2018 reduced the shooting half-days to 13.5 and otherwise dismissed the appeal. The Administrative Court of the Canton of Nidwalden dismissed the appeal on 24 June 2019, insofar as it was admissible.
Before the Federal Supreme Court, [A.] and [B.] requested the annulment of the relief, alternatively a restriction of shooting operations, a shorter time limit, and the closure of the range no later than 31 December 2025. The immission limit values are exceeded by up to 7 dB(A). After the suspension of the compulsory out-of-service shooting obligation in 2020, the appellants withdrew the request for suspensive effect and requested restrictions only from 2021 onward.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court notes that the shooting range, as a facility for out-of-service shooting (Art. 133 ArmA, Art. 125 para. 2 and Art. 133 para. 3 ArmA), is subject to noise protection law (Art. 7 para. 7 EPA, Art. 2 para. 1 NAO). Installations that do not comply with environmental regulations must be remediated (Art. 16 para. 1 EPA); relief must be granted where remediation would be disproportionate (Art. 17 para. 1 EPA, Art. 14 para. 1 NAO). The range exceeds the immission limit values under Annex 7 NAO and is therefore subject to the remediation obligation.
Structural measures such as noise barriers or lowering the firing line are disproportionately costly and conflict with the predominant interests of the protection of townscapes, nature and landscape. The question is therefore whether further operational restrictions must be ordered. National defence is not generally excluded from environmental protection law, but that law must not render out-of-service shooting impossible. Exceedances are therefore in principle to be accepted for the compulsory shooting obligation, whereas purely civilian, sporting shooting is not in the public interest and does not justify relief.
Voluntary shooting exercises within the meaning of Art. 4 para. 1 let. b of the Shooting Ordinance (club training, shooting competitions, preparatory exercises for the federal exercises) also serve the interest of national defence and may justify relief. However, they carry less weight than compulsory shooting, so a limit on shooting half-days for voluntary exercises is more likely to be appropriate. The request to prohibit all irregular shooting does not violate federal law, since these are of minor significance for the noise situation.
There is no absolute obligation to connect to community or regional facilities (Art. 125 para. 2 ArmA, Art. 3 Shooting Range Ordinance) in order to promote them. Relocation to other facilities in the canton is not an option, since these also exceed the limit values. Relocation to facilities outside the canton is not reasonable for working persons subject to shooting obligations because of costs and travel time. However, the long duration of the unresolved noise problem strengthens the public interest in noise reduction and the interest of residents, which justifies a stronger restriction of shooting operations without…