WASHINGTON (AFP) — The US Supreme Court agreed Monday to examine President George W. Bush's right to exempt the navy from environmental laws against the use of sonars considered potentially harmful to whales.
The navy and environmentalists have dueled in federal court for years over the use of sonar equipment during training exercises off the California coast.
Environmentalists argue that the use of sonars has potentially catastrophic consequences for marine life, arguing that their use has disoriented animals and caused mass deaths in the Bahamas and Canary islands.
In January, a court required the navy to take safety precautions in the California coast inhabited by five species of endangered whales.
A few days later, Bush granted an exemption to the navy, arguing the use of sonars was vital for military preparedness exercises that were in the "paramount interest of the United States."
Environmentalists took their case to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld the lower court's decision in February.
The government then petitioned the Supreme Court, which is expected to hold a hearing at the end of the year and issue its ruling next year.
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