NOAA, Court Focus On Marine Mammals

The comments from Breyer, a member of the court's liberal wing, indicated that the decision in Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council might not fall along ideological lines. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. sharply questioned both sides, calling a key part of the Navy's argument "odd" but said environmentalists are being "very unfair" because the Navy is trying not to cause harm.

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. questioned whether a lower court judge who halted the use of sonar, but then allowed it with restrictions that the Navy opposes, is "an expert on anti-submarine warfare."

"Isn't there something incredibly odd about a single district judge making a determination on that defense question that is contrary" to the Navy's, he said.

Although much of the argument focused on the potential harm to whales, legal experts said the case raises broader questions about the military's obligation to obey environmental laws as well as the constitutional separation of powers.

The dispute centers on 14 training exercises off the California coast that began in February 2007 and are scheduled to end in January. The Natural Resources Defense Council filed suit in federal court to stop or modify the use of sonar.

The Bush administration, seeking to overturn an appellate court ruling that upheld the restrictions on sonar use, is relying on arguments it has offered in other national security cases since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The administration's attorneys said the judiciary must defer to its determination that the exercises constitute a national security emergency that overrides the requirements of several environmental laws.

Environmentalists say the Navy must adhere to the law. They say that an adverse ruling could free the government to take other actions that could harm the environment without studying their effects.