Jan 3, 2008 6:58 pm US/Pacific
Judge: Save The Whales...Stop Using Sonar!
A Judge Imposed Restrictions On The Navy's Use Of Sonar
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
A federal judge Thursday ordered limits placed on the Navy's use of sonar off the Southern California coast. The limits were put in place to protect marine wildlife.
According to environmentalists, led by the National Resources Defense Council, the mid-frequency active sonar used by the Navy during its exercises harms marine life, resulting in more beached whales. The Navy said the tests are crucial to train its sailors to detect quiet submarines.
Thursday, U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper issued a preliminary injunction ordering the Navy to stop using the sonar when marine mammals are within 2,200 yards and to monitor its test area for one hour before tests to make sure no marine wildlife is in the area.
But Cooper allowed the Navy to conduct exercises within 12 miles of the coast. Environmentalists had asked for a 25-mile exclusion zone, but Cooper said that keeping exercises that far away "would unduly hamper the Navy's training efforts."
A Navy representative was not immediately available to comment. Joel Reynolds, a senior attorney at the NRDC, hailed the court's decision. "It recognizes what we have argued throughout this case -- that the Navy can test and train using sonar that better protects marine wildlife," Reynolds said.
A three-judge panel from the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals earlier allowed the Navy to continue its current round of exercises, but barred it from performing more sonar tests until a safer method could be found.
On Dec. 27, Cooper toured the U.S.S. Milius at the naval base in San Diego, accompanied by attorneys on both sides, to improve her "understanding of the Navy's sonar training procedures and the feasibility of the parties' proposed mitigation measures," she wrote in her order.
Lt. Cmdr. Cindy Moore of the Navy said the Navy was aware of the court's decision and was reviewing it.
Environmentalists argued that sonar noise disorients whales, causing them to become stranded on beaches and die.
They have also accused the Navy of refusing to take simple measures, such as avoiding whale migration routes, to reduce the environmental harm from 14 exercises planned through January 2009 that would use high-intensity, mid-frequency sonar.
The Navy said it uses the sonar to detect quiet submarines.
The Navy has also been accused of failing to do sufficient environmental analysis of sonar exercises and of not complying with the Coastal Zone Management Act, which requires the federal government to follow state coastal plans as much as possible.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
