US judge rejects Bush decision over Navy sonar use

0 Comments | AFP, February, 2008

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — A Los Angeles judge has rejected a decision by President George W. Bush allowing the Navy to use sonar equipment accused of endangering marine life, stating there was no emergency to justify over-riding existing environmental laws, court documents showed Tuesday.

In a 36-page opinion, US District Judge Florence Marie Cooper said the Navy must now abide by a previous order which outlawed the use of submarine-hunting sonar in areas off the coast of California known to be populated by whales.

Environmental groups say the equipment is potentially harmful to marine mammals, citing cases in the Bahamas and Canary Islands where sonar has been linked to mass deaths of whales.

Last month Bush granted an exemption to the Navy over use of sonar,...