[CPEO-MEF] Enviros say Navy to seek Exemption from Statutes

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

For Release: Tuesday, August 22, 2001

Washington, DC - Citing growing restrictions on its operations, weapons
development and training, the U.S. Navy will  soon seek Congressional
exemption from compliance with several environmental laws, according to
agency documents  released today by Public Employees for Environmental
Responsibility (PEER). 

"The Navy's environmental philosophy is 'damn the torpedoes, full speed
ahead,'" commented PEER General Counsel  Dan Meyer, a former Navy
officer. "The Navy's senior command does not appreciate that defense of
the nation does not  demand despoliation of our natural resources." 

In recent briefings and position papers, Navy officials contend "the
cumulative impact of compliance [with applicable  environmental laws]
can have severe to extreme consequences on operational readiness."
Present and future limitations on  firing live explosives, night
training, operations in marine sanctuaries and emerging weapon systems,
such as its new  "LFA" (Low Frequency Active) sonar present potential
obstacles to the Navy's mission. 

The Navy decries actions to protect threatened and endangered species by
federal wildlife protection agencies such as the  U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service because they take a
"precautionary approach"  toward protecting sea life, arguing that its
operations should not be hampered by "lack of quality data" and "limited
 scientific understanding" of the vulnerability of marine mammals, sea
turtles and other aquatic life.

Despite recommendations that Navy contractors "consider, wherever
practical, using closed environments (e.g. quarries,  catch-ponds) for
the testing of ordnance and other live-fire testing" the Navy resists
adopting any possible changes in its  own operations to avoid
environmental impacts. Instead the documents outline a series of
statutory exemptions that the  Navy intends to seek from the Endangered
Species Act.

"We cannot simply stand by while the military or anyone else attempts to
cut and shred the fabric of our nation's  environmental laws, especially
one that was so painstakingly crafted by past generations," said Brock
Evans, a former  marine and executive director of the Endangered Species
Coalition. According to former Air Force Chief of Staff  General Thomas
D. White "The mission of the Department of Defense is more than
aircraft, guns and missiles. Part of  the defense job is protecting the
lands, waters, timber and wildlife -- the priceless natural resources
that make this great  nation of ours worth defending."

One document lists "seven regulatory programs that impact DOD
{Department of Defense} operations, training and  testing in the marine
environment in order of their severity" starting with the Marine Mammal
Protection Act followed  by the Endangered Species Act, the National
Marine Sanctuaries Act, the Coastal Zone Management Act, the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act (protecting fish habitat) and two Clinton Executive
Orders on coral reefs and marine protected  areas.

***

Copies of the Navy documents referenced are available on request.

Endangered Species Coalition statement on Department of Defense proposed
ESA exemptions.

"We are very disturbed to learn about this attempted end run around the
Endangered Species Act," said Endangered  Species Coalition, Executive
Director and ex-marine Brock Evans, "and we simply cannot stand by while
the military or  anyone else attempts to cut and shred the fabric of our
nation's environmental laws, especially one that was so  painstakingly
crafted by past generations." The Endangered Species Coalition cannot
accept these exemptions and we will  do everything in our power to
educate the American people about how they will damage our way of life
and  irreplaceable natural heritage. 

The ESC has had very good relations with the armed services and is
currently exploring partnerships with some of them  to work together on
environmental issues. By and large, the military has a solid record of
balancing the difficult task of  maintaining mission readiness while
complying with ESA protections for endangered species. "These
exemptions,"  observed Brock Evans, "would only undermine the military's
efforts to protect imperiled species in a misguided attempt  to fix
something that is not broken." The Endangered Species Act is a very
flexible law, specifically designed to  accommodate various situations,
such as military land uses, while still protecting endangered species.
"If any of the  services are having difficulty, we invite them to work
with us to find solutions, not to turn their back on the laws that  keep
our country beautiful," said Evans.

While the ESC fully supports the need to maintain military readiness, we
must also must remind Congress and the  administration of the words of
former Air Force Chief of Staff General Thomas D. White who said, "The
mission of the  Department of Defense is more than aircraft, guns, and
missiles. Part of the defense job is protecting the lands, waters, 
timber and wildlife - - the priceless natural resources that make this
great nation of our worth defending."

For more on the Endangered Species Coalition, see
http://www.stopextinction.org. 
For more on Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, see
http://www.peer.org. 

-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 222B View St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
lsiegel@cpeo.org
http://www.cpeo.org

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