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Winter v. NRDC - Links to Other Amicus Briefs in Support of the Navy

Several amicus briefs on file in support of the U.S. Navy in the Winter v. NRDC case are available.

The California Forestry Association's brief here, the Pacific Legal Foundation's brief here, and the Washington Legal Foundation's brief here.

Our brief and many of the other briefs are here.

New Environmental Lawsuit Against the Navy - Explosive Ordnance Training Under Attack

The U.S. Navy was just sued in federal court in Washington for alleged violations of the National Environmental Policy Act, Marine Mammals Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act and the Administrative Procedures Act.  The complaint is available here.

Plaintiffs, PUBLIC EMPLOYEES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY and the WILD FISH CONSERVANCY allege: 

 

 

Plaintiffs bring this action for declaratory and injunctive relief to require the Navy to comply with NEPA, and to enjoin the Navy from continuing to engage in Explosive Ordnance Disposal (“EOD”) training operations in Puget Sound until it comes into compliance with NEPA by producing adequate environmental reviews and/or institutes mitigation measures to sufficiently reduce or eliminate the environmental impacts of its EOD training operations. NEPA requires a federal agency to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) for all “major federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment,” prior to undertaking such actions. 42 U.S.C. § 4332(C).

The lawsuit pends in the Western District of Washington.

 

 

Supreme Court - Retired Admirals and Navy League Submit Amicus Brief in California Sonar Case

Today, on behalf of the U.S. Navy League - Honolulu Council, nine retired Navy Admirals, naval warfare experts, and other civic organizations, we filed an amicus brief in support of the U.S. Navy in the Winter v. NRDC case pending at the U.S. Supreme Court.  The brief is here.

We represent several major civic organizations concerned about the impact this case has on military preparedness.  We also represent nine retired Navy Admirals, including a former Chief of Naval Operations, Commanders of Pacific Command and the Pacific Fleet, and commanders of battle groups, aircraft carriers and surface combatants.

The thrust of our argument is that the Ninth Circuit injunction against the Navy restricting sonar use pending completion of an EIS based on an asserted lack of study of the purported harms to marine mammals is not warranted when those harms are themselves exempt from the substantive environmental protection statute, to wit: the Marine Mammal Protection Act. 

This is not a case of the courts giving permission to the Navy to kill marine mammals.  Rather, this case is about who is best suited, statutorily, to adopt those measures that are required to protect marine mammals when balanced against the potentially competing needs of national defense.  The Navy has in place measures to mitigate harms to marine mammals.  District by district, piecemeal injunctions are a recipe for inconsistent training for Navy sonar operators with potentially detrimental impacts on military readiness.

In the past two years, in separate incidents, a Chinese diesel electric submarine approached a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Taiwan Strait and was within torpedo-range of the ship, prior to detection by the U.S. ships.  Aircraft carriers have several thousand sailors serving onboard.  The incident was reported here and here.

The Government's Brief is here.  Amicus California Forestry Association's brief can be downloaded here.

My earlier posts are here, here, and here. 

The opinion below is here, the government's petition here, NRDC's Opposition is here and the government's Reply is here.

This case has a chaotic procedural history, with trips up and down the appeals courts, with one stop at the White House.  There is a parallel case pending in the District of Hawaii, posted here.

Lorman Seminar on Land Use Issues in the Shoreline Area

Today, I lectured at the Lorman Seminar entitled, "Coastal Engineering and Land Use Issues in Hawaii."

These are the slides from my presentation (3MB in PDF).