Supreme Court Accepts Navy Sonar Requests

On June 23, the US Supreme Court accepted a request by the Navy that the Court review a series of lower court rulings that restrict the Navy's use of sonar in training exercises off the coast of Southern California.

The original injunction, handed down in August 2007 by a U.S. District Court in Los Angeles and later amended, was affirmed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in February.

The court-imposed mid-frequency active (MFA) sonar training restrictions include a requirement to shut down sonar altogether when marine mammals are within 2,200 yards of any sonar source and to reduce sonar power by 75 percent when the Navy detects significant surface ducting conditions, whether or not a marine mammal is present. The 2,200-yard shutdown zone is eleven times greater than the existing shutdown distance that the Navy developed in consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service.

"My primary job is to ensure that Navy ships in the Pacific are prepared to fight and win in combat," said Vice Adm. Samuel J. Locklear, Commander, U.S. Third Fleet. "These restrictions make it very difficult to conduct the kind of realistic, integrated training exercises that ensure the combat effectiveness of our force."

The high court will hear the case this Autumn.