She seems like a nice woman from what I've seen.
You're in Florida, and did I correctly hear available for free lance work?
Perhaps she could use an expert opinion regarding the containment features of the range. If he's using steel does it have the proper negative attitude, is the hole deep enough, and the back wall material sufficiently soft and vertical to contain anything fired into it regardless of the size, rapidity, or nature of the load.
If as Misty alleges, it just a bare hole regularly subjected to an intense pounding by her neighbor and his friends, the impacts of time could causes changes in the material. In the press video, it appears to be build on sandy soil. Fresh virgin sand is an excellent bullet stop. It allows deep, consistent penetration regardless of load, hard fmj's, soft lead, or open tip loads which quickly expend their energy into the pliable backstop are all readily contained.
As Misty pointed out, problems can arise as this material becomes weathered and aged, and is subjected to hard use, It naturally looses it's pliability and other natural qualities that permit fresh materials to seamlessly absorb any impact without the risk of ricochets spilling over into neighboring area's. This potential could be exasperates, if, as Misty alleges, no additional barrier was placed as promised, there's no mound, and all brush was removed.
Brush removal isn't always a negative. A hot round in the wrong bush can lead to a real sticky situation. If an unwanted brush fire rages out of control it can seriously impact the entire community, and create legal consequences for everyone involved for a couple of decades. Although it can have it's benefits, not everyone likes the bare look. Some prefer selective grooming of natural growth. Of course this can require regular maintenance before use, which will cause some owners, especially those of high usage facilities to go with the minimalist approach of just a bare hole. The clean well defined lines of a new subterranean range can be very appealing to a new owner, but the ravages of time and hard use typically don't treat them well, and you can end up with just an ugly eyesore that nobody wants to see.
Fortunately there are specialist who can rejuvenate old ranges. One technique is lead remediation. The involves removal of the hardened external layer of the backstop that's taken the brunt of the hard use. For range that regularly receive fire form extremely large rifles that deliver very large diameter deep penetrating rounds, rejuvenation can be significantly more expensive, and require the removal of additional material. Not all ranges will support such efforts. It's common for ranges over used ranges, especially public ranges, and those on or near military bases to be permanently closed to prevent the spread of contaminates. Soldiers like to shoot their guns, and they have a lot of big guns, but if lead gets into the surrounding ground water, sometimes there's no choice. I don't see this as a real risk. It sounds like this range is just used by the owner and a few close friends.
As previously mentioned, there's several options available for barrier materials. Steel plates can significantly reduce the wear on the back wall. Personally I'm very careful when choosing steel. I only choose the thickest most resilient steel for reputable manufacturers. I have a very long barreled gun that provide me a significant advantage when stalking highly sought after elusive quarry. Unfortunately even with the highest quality materials, this can lead to shortened barrier life, and with cheap products, frequent unintended breakage. To mitigate this, some range owners like to use a secondary barrier of a spongy material such as wood. Railroad ties are a popular options. Some people like treated ties. Although they may last longer and the nature of some treatments such as creosote, and bind with and further inhibit the projectiles, I'm not a fan of the smell or discoloration and prefer bare wood. Unfortunately there is a limited life for most wood, and if the owner wants to use it past about 60 years, it's increasingly likely they will need some kind of chemical treatment. Sixty year old chemically treated wood is seldom as good as young wood, but it can still get the job done, and some range owners appreciate the character, and familiarity, especially if they've had the same wood for decades.
Misty also suggest turning the range around. Range orientation can be critical for everyone's enjoyment. Although I haven't seen a diagram, and it's hard to tell from the video, It sounds like it's currently facing Misty's backdoor, and concussion from the owner and his friends banging away with their big guns is a new, disconcerting experience for her. Regardless, the changes she's proposing can be very expensive, costing the shooter a significant amounts of time and money. He can't just abandon the existing range, but would have to hire lawyers and get permits and even go to court. Getting rid of a range is a long tedious process, and although the shooters might appreciate a new freshly dug hole, a range with the wrong orientation, just might not work for him. Most shooters are pretty traditional and not willing to give up a large portion of their assets so their friends can bang at their own backdoor but appreciate easy comfort and familiarity of a normally oriented range.
Misty, perhaps the greatest range professional on The Fire is Dave. He's the embodiment of professionalism, managed some of the hardest worked high volume ranges, and in his free time, enjoyed many of the finest facilities in this country has to offer. Although I've never seen it, I have it on good authority that Dave's equipment's on the highest quality. As a high volume rapid fire shooter he's skilled at diagnosing ranges prone to excessive noise levels. He can determine if excessive lead contamination exist. Typically this can be accomplish by probing the backstop with the fingers to get an idea of the overall soil conditions, and the nature of the particulates that cling to the fingers. In necessary he can refer samples to a nationally qualified lab. Dave has great contacts due to his years of range management.
I understand you may already have a consultant, but I'm certain Dave would be a huge upgrade for you. He might not be the easiest person to work with, but he never leaves a customer unsatisfied, and they always come back for repeat business.
