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Uncertain ripple effect for Hawaii from recent USSC Navy decision

By Richard Binder

A Hawaii case restricting sonar use in Navy training exercises may be affected by the recent Supreme Court ruling in Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, which lifted similar restrictions for anti-submarine training off the coast of southern California. 

In Ocean Mammal Institute v. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, U.S. District Judge David Ezra ordered the Navy in February to implement measures similar to those in Winter in order to avoid harming marine mammals.  Ezra said to reduce sonar levels when any marine mammal is spotted within 1500 meters of a sonar-emitting vessel and to continue reducing power the closer the animal gets, shutting down completely at a distance of 500 meters.  The Navy appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in June, arguing that a new environmental impact statement already set appropriate restrictions on sonar use in the area.  The appeals court directed Ezra to clarify his decision, and the judge indicated that he would wait to see the outcome in the Winter case.

Both sides are hopeful for a victory.  In praising the California decision, a Navy spokesman said,  "Without the crippling restrictions contained in the preliminary injunction, our sailors can train realistically, and the Navy is able to certify our forces are ready for anti-submarine warfare, reducing risk to our sailors and national security while simultaneously protecting the environment." A news release from the ecological law firm Earthjustice stated the Supreme Court's ruling is "narrowly tailored to the specifics of the California case and affects only certain provisions of the district court's injunction."

See stories here and here, with background here.

Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on November 13, 2008 (boomark / email).