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    Judge: Bush Can't Exempt Navy in Sonar
    The Associated Press

    Monday 04 February 2008

    Los Angeles - President Bush cannot exempt the Navy from environmental laws banning sonar training that opponents argue harms whales, a federal judge ruled Monday.

    Navy officials did not immediately respond to the ruling by U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper. Mark Matsunaga, spokesman for the Navy's Pacific Fleet, headquartered in Hawaii, said officials needed time to review it before commenting.

    The president signed a waiver Jan. 15 exempting the Navy and its anti-submarine warfare exercises from a preliminary injunction creating a 12 nautical-mile no-sonar zone off Southern California. The Navy's attorneys argued in court last week that he was within his legal rights.

    The Navy is not "exempted from compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and this Court's injunction," Cooper wrote in her 36-page decision.

    Environmentalists have fought the use of sonar in court, saying it harms whales and other marine mammals.

    "It's an excellent decision," said Joel Reynolds, attorney for the National Resources Defense Council, which is spearheading the legal fight. "It reinstates the proper balance between national security and environmental protection."

    When he signed the exemption, Bush said complying with the law would "undermine the Navy's ability to conduct realistic training exercises that are necessary to ensure the combat effectiveness of carrier and expeditionary strike groups."

    Said Reynolds:

    "I've always felt that the president's actions were illegal in this case, and the judge has affirmed that point of view with the decision today."