BUSH EXEMPTS US NAVY FROM CALIFORNIA SONAR CURBS
01.18.08 - Leído 103 veces. Enviar esta notaPresident George W. Bush has exempted the Navy from a law restricting the use of sonar near the California coast, the White House said on Wednesday, despite concerns the technology could harm sea mammals
WASHINGTON, US; January 18, 2008.- But Navy officials said the order, which Bush signed on Tuesday as he traveled in the Middle East, does not allow it to proceed with anti-submarine warfare training exercises scheduled for next week.
Instead, the exemption and a separate action by the White House Council on Environmental Quality aim to support the government’s appeal of a court injunction that the Navy says has severely limited its ability to use sonar in training exercises off the California coast.
On Tuesday the Justice Department asked the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to throw out that injunction. It based its request partly on Bush’s conclusion that the exercises are in the “paramount interest of the United States” and “essential to national security.”
A ruling could come by Friday.
“We have to comply with court orders,” a Navy official told a press briefing held to discuss the White House actions.
“Executive action can’t unilaterally moot a court-entered injunction,” the official said. “(But) it can form the basis for the court to lift its own injunction or for a superior court to vacate or stay the injunction.”
The White House move is the latest government attempt to scuttle the lawsuit brought by environmental groups. The Natural Resources Defense Council and other groups say sonar used in training violates environmental laws.
They also say the Navy’s sonar injures and kills marine mammals, including whales and dolphins.
SUBMARINE-HUNTING RADAR
The district court on Jan. 3 barred the Navy’s use of powerful submarine-hunting mid-frequency active radar within 12 miles of the coast, protecting a strip of water that is habitat for whales, dolphins and other marine mammals.
The court also imposed other restrictions, including a stipulation that the Navy switch off sonar if marine mammals are spotted within 2,200 yards (2,012 metres) of sonar vessels.
The ruling created an “unreasonable risk that the Navy will not be able to conduct effective sonar training necessary to certify strike groups for deployment in support of world-wide operational and combat activities,” the Navy said.
To bolster the appeal, the White House freed the Navy from restrictions under two federal laws that formed the basis for the injunction.
Bush’s order exempted the Navy from sonar requirements for California contained in the Coastal Zone Management Act.
At the same time, the Council on Environmental Quality waived Navy compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act by approving alternate guidelines for sonar use along the California coast.
The actions drew sharp criticism from environmentalists involved in the legal battle, who predicted the appellate judges would rule in their favor.
“This is not a national security issue. The Navy doesn’t need to harm whales to train effectively with sonar. It simply chooses to for the sake of convenience,” said Joel Reynolds, director of the Marine Mammal Protection Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
(Reuters)
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