News reports suggest, and court pleadings confirm, that the California Sonar Case, a.k.a. Winter v. NRDC, has settled.
The NRDC news release sets forth the settlement terms:
1. It sets out a schedule for environmental compliance pursuant to which the Navy will prepare and issue environmental statements for sonar exercises and ranges around the world.
2. It requires public disclosure of previously classified information on sonar, including information that had been covered by protective order in NRDC v Winter. The Navy also agrees to provide plaintiffs a series of briefings on sonar compliance and mitigation-related issues.
3. The Navy agrees to fund $14.75 million dollars in new marine mammal research.
4. The settlement establishes a cooling off period to permit negotiation between plaintiffs and the Navy when future sonar disagreements arise.
5. The Navy agrees to pay $1.1 million dollars in attorney's fees for settling both the 2005 lawsuit and a 2006 lawsuit regarding sonar use around Hawaii.
The dismissal pleadings are available here and here.
My Resource Page for this case is here.
Comments