Federal judge limits Navy use of sonar amid concerns for marine life
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Environmentalists say navy sonar is dangerous to sea mammals.
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SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Citing concerns for marine mammals, a federal judge on Tuesday limited the Navy's use of a new sonar system designed to detect enemy submarines.
The decision scuttles the Navy's plans to experiment with the low-frequency sonar throughout the majority of the world's oceans, confining it instead to areas with few marine mammals and endangered species.
The case stems from a lawsuit by the Natural Resources Defense Council and other environmental organizations that claimed the powerful sonar system harasses and can even kill marine mammals.
The judge ordered NRDC and the Navy to determine where testing the sonar would have a minimal impact on marine life and set a hearing for October 7 to review the matter.
The order does not preclude the Navy from using the submarine-detection system during wartime, and acknowledges that the Navy must be allowed to train with it beforehand in various oceanic conditions.
Environmentalists, who say sonar is dangerous, point to a different system the Navy used in March 2000. Hours after it was deployed, at least 16 whales and two dolphins beached themselves on islands in the Bahamas. Eight whales died and scientists found hemorrhaging around their brains and ear bones -- injuries consistent with exposure to loud noise.
Navy spokesman Whit DeLoach offered no comment, saying the decision was still being reviewed. The Navy can appeal the decision.
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