Securing the Oceans
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dealt the National Resources Defense Council a setback when it stayed a lower court’s injunction against US Navy use of sonar off the coast of Southern California. The stay is a temporary measure until there is a final decision on the injunction.
The lower court had issued the injunction in response to a lawsuit by NRDC and four other NGOs alleging that the use of “medium frequency active sonar” in training exercises without mitigation measures was a violation of the National Environmental Policy Act.
In granting the emergency injunction, the appellate court explained that “The public does indeed have a very considerable interest in preserving our natural environment and especially relatively scarce whales. But it also has an interest in national defense. We are currently engaged in war, in two countries. 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. The safety of the whales must be weighed, and so must the safety of our warriors. And of our country.”
See Interactive Public Docket article
See Court Order
