The U.S. Supreme Court Nov. 12 lifted two restrictions on naval training exercises off the coast of California that had been imposed by a lower court to protect whales and other marine mammals from the effects of sonar, saying it was in the public interest to do so (Winter v. NRDC, U.S., No. 07-1239, 11/12/08; 67 ERC 1225 (2008)).rnThe Supreme Court reversed a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that upheld two conditions of a preliminary injunction imposing mitigation measures on planned Navy exercises during 2008 (NRDC v. Winter, 518 F.3d 658, 66 ERC 1517 (9th Cir. 2008); 39 ER 459, 3/7/08).rnThe Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California abused its discretion in requiring the Navy to power down mid-frequency active sonar if a marine mammal was spotted within a 2,200-yard shutdown zone near Navy ships or to power down the sonar by 75 percent if significant "surface ducting" conditions were encountered.rnThe Supreme Court vacated the two conditions the Navy had challenged on appeal. The Navy contended the exercises are essential for military units being deployed to the Western Pacific and beyond.rnThe court's decision leaves intact four additional injunction-imposed mitigation measures the Navy did not appeal, including a 12 nautical-mile, no-sonar zone along the California coastline and an increased number of monitoring requirements.
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