Dear All,

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has issued an order in NRDC v. Winter, a case challenging the Navy’s use of mid-frequency active sonar in major exercises off southern California.  This comes in response to the Navy’s appeal of a lower-court decision, issued last August, that barred use of mid-frequency sonar in those exercises.

In its order, the Court found Plaintiffs have a strong likelihood of showing that the Navy violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA).  It then sent the case back to the lower court to draft a new injunction that provides “satisfactory safeguards for the protection of the environment” off southern California.  

The Navy will be enjoined from using sonar while the lower court is considering mitigation measures; but the injunction will not kick in for another 10 days, which will allow the Navy to complete an ongoing exercise.  The new injunction should issue by January 4, before the next major exercise is scheduled to occur.

If you’d like a copy of the Court’s order, please let me know.  A full opinion will be issued later.

Cheers,

Michael

Michael Jasny

Senior Policy Analyst

Natural Resources Defense Council

4479 W. 5th Avenue

Vancouver, BC  V6R1S4

tel. 604-736-9386

fax 310-434-2399

mjasny@nrdc.org

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