TOP government lawyers agreed with the recent ruling of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. that the Department of Defense was in clear violation of existing environmental laws while performing military training exercises on Farallon de Medinilla.
District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan issued a 30-day preliminary injunction on April 30, enjoining the Department of Defense to cease the Navy and Marines’ live fire exercises for a month.
Sullivan ordered Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, and acting Secretary of the Navy Robert B. Pirie Jr. to comply with the permitting requirement imposed by the Administrative Procedures Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.
The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit in Dec. 2000 to prevent live fire training exercises on the island because they “kill” and “harm” several species of migratory birds.
Attorney General Robert T. Torres said Sullivan’s decision “trumps” the interest of national security and military activities in the absence of the exemption.
Pamela Brown, the governor’s legal counsel, told Variety yesterday that Sullivan could have issued a “permanent injunction.”
She said the Pentagon failed to give a “good mitigation scenario” to prevent harming the birds.
The judge only issued a preliminary injunction, Brown said. ‘The reason that he only granted it for 30 days, is for the U.S. military to work for the permitting required by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,” she added.
Brown said Sullivan had set a status hearing for May 10 to review the status of the military’s application for a Fish and Wildlife permit.
Navy spokeswoman Monica Richardson said by the time the U.S. District Court issued the injunction, the U.S. military was scheduled to hold their exercises on Farallon de Medinilla.
She told Variety yesterday afternoon that they had to cancel the reservation of the Marine flight squadron’s scheduled training from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on May 1.
She said F-18 jet fighters were scheduled to proceed to Farallon de Medinilla range when the order from Pentagon came out.
“We were advised by the higher headquarters in D.C. to halt all military activities (on Farallon de Medinilla). We complied with the judge’s decision and all military training on the island has been canceled until further notice,” she said.
According to the Center for Biological Diversity, Farallon de Medinilla is home to more than a dozen species of migratory birds.
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act is one of the nation’s oldest conservation laws. Enacted in 1918, it implements national treaties between the U.S., Japan, Russia, Mexico and Canada.
The Fish and Wildlife Service turned down the Navy’s 1996 application for a permit to bomb Farallon de Medinilla, Variety learned. The Navy did not appeal or reapply, but continued to bomb the island.
