California Coastal Commission Rejects Navy Offshore Training

[unhappycamper]

http://www.kpbs.org/news/2013/mar/08/california-coastal-commission-rejects-navy-offshor/



California Coastal Commission Rejects Navy Offshore Training
Friday, March 8, 2013
Julie Watson, Associated Press

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The California Coastal Commission on Friday rejected a Navy explosives and sonar training program off the Southern California coast that critics said could harm endangered blue whales and other sea life.

Commissioners meeting in San Diego ruled unanimously that the Navy lacked enough information to back up its argument that the threat to marine mammals would be negligible.

The program had been scheduled to begin in January. Commission staffers had recommended that the panel require additional wildlife protections before endorsing it.

The panel and the Navy could now seek mediation to iron out their differences — or the Navy could simply choose to proceed with the training, as it did in 2007 and 2009. That probably would prompt the commission to sue in an effort to block the program, as it has in the past.