A federal appeals court allowed the Navy on Friday to resume using underwater sonar blasts in anti-submarine warfare tests off Southern California despite possible harm to endangered whales, saying the nation's military needs come first.
"The safety of the whales must be weighed, and so must the safety of our warriors. And of our country," said the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
The 2-1 ruling suspended an Aug. 6 injunction by a federal judge in Los Angeles that ordered the Navy to halt the sonar experiments during training exercises off the Channel Islands planned through January 2009. Three of the 14 scheduled tests had already been conducted before the judge intervened.
In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper said the underwater sound waves could harm nearly 30 species of marine mammals, including five species of endangered whales. She said the Navy's planned protective measures were "woefully inadequate and ineffectual," and cited the Navy's estimate that the tests would cause 466 permanent injuries to whales.
The appeals court said Cooper had failed to consider the need for military preparedness.
"We are currently engaged in war, in two countries," said Judge Andrew Kleinfeld in the majority opinion, joined by Judge Consuelo Callahan. "There are no guarantees extending from 2007 to 2009 or at any other time against other countries deciding to engage us, or our determining that it is necessary to engage other countries.
"We customarily give considerable deference to the executive branch's judgment regarding foreign policy and national defense," the court said.
In dissent, Judge Milan Smith said the nation's environmental laws apply to the armed forces. He said the Navy is conducting similar tests all over the world and would suffer no hardship by delaying its Southern California exercises until it adopts adequate protective measures.
"There is no 'national security trump card' that allows the Navy to ignore (the environmental law) to achieve other objectives," Smith said.
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"The safety of the whales must be weighed, and so must the safety of our warriors. And of our country," said the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
The 2-1 ruling suspended an Aug. 6 injunction by a federal judge in Los Angeles that ordered the Navy to halt the sonar experiments during training exercises off the Channel Islands planned through January 2009. Three of the 14 scheduled tests had already been conducted before the judge intervened.
In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper said the underwater sound waves could harm nearly 30 species of marine mammals, including five species of endangered whales. She said the Navy's planned protective measures were "woefully inadequate and ineffectual," and cited the Navy's estimate that the tests would cause 466 permanent injuries to whales.
The appeals court said Cooper had failed to consider the need for military preparedness.
"We are currently engaged in war, in two countries," said Judge Andrew Kleinfeld in the majority opinion, joined by Judge Consuelo Callahan. "There are no guarantees extending from 2007 to 2009 or at any other time against other countries deciding to engage us, or our determining that it is necessary to engage other countries.
"We customarily give considerable deference to the executive branch's judgment regarding foreign policy and national defense," the court said.
In dissent, Judge Milan Smith said the nation's environmental laws apply to the armed forces. He said the Navy is conducting similar tests all over the world and would suffer no hardship by delaying its Southern California exercises until it adopts adequate protective measures.
"There is no 'national security trump card' that allows the Navy to ignore (the environmental law) to achieve other objectives," Smith said.
Discuss Add this link to... Bury
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