Whales 2, Bush 0

Judge overrules Bush on Navy sonar ban

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- The Bush administration's exemption of an environmental ban on sonar use by the U.S. Navy was overruled by a federal judge in Los Angeles.

In a 36-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper said U.S. President George Bush's exemption on sonar use off the coast of California ordered last month there was no emergency that justified the White House overruling earlier court-ordered protections for whales and dolphins, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.

Submarine-locating sonar has been linked to mass deaths of whales in various places around the world but never off Southern California, the newspaper said.

Cooper's ruling upholds the earlier courts' decision that sonar can't be used such as within 12 nautical miles of the coast and between Santa Catalina and San Clemente islands and must be turned off if when whales or other marine mammals are seen within 2,200 yards of ships, the report said.

The Navy claims the safety of its sailors depends on being well trained to detect potentially hostile vessels.

A Navy spokesman contacted by the Times didn't indicate whether an appeal would be filed.

(The article is here.)

Whales 1, U.S. Navy 0

No-sonar zone ordered off California coast. Court also orders Navy to have trained lookouts.

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - A federal judge ordered the Navy on Thursday to adopt measures that would lessen the impact of sonar on whales and other marine life during exercises near Southern California.

The preliminary injunction issued Thursday requires the Navy to create a 12-nautical-mile no-sonar zone along the coast and have trained lookouts watch for marine mammals before and during exercises. Sonar should be shut down when mammals are spotted within 2,200 yards.

Cmdr. Jeff Davis said the Navy does not believe the ruling "struck the right balance between national security and environmental concerns."

The Natural Resources Defense Council had sued to force the Navy to lessen the harm of its sonar exercises. In November, a federal appeals court said the sonar problem needed to be fixed and sent the matter to a trial judge in Los Angeles to hammer out the details.

Critics contend sonar has harmful effects on whales, possibly by damaging their hearing, and other marine mammals worldwide. The council's lawsuit alleges the Navy's sonar causes whales and other mammals to beach themselves.

(More here.)