Court OK's border fence despite environmental worry
By EILEEN SULLIVAN
Associated Press
June 24, 2008
Page 2 of 2
The fact that the Supreme Court would not take up the Arizona environmental challenge does not mean other lawsuits don't have a chance, said Celestino Gallegos, an attorney with Texas RioGrande Legal Aid. Gallegos' organization has worked with many South Texas landowners who face condemnation. The landowners argue that the government did not properly consult with landowners before filing condemnation lawsuits. The fencing plan affects about 480 landowners.
Defenders of Wildlife attorney Brian Segee said there are ''serious constitutional problems'' with the law Congress passed in 2005, ''which places the unprecedented and extraordinary power with one individual, the secretary of homeland security, to pick and choose which laws apply along the southern border.''
Russ Knocke, a spokesman for Homeland Security, said, ''As fence construction proceeds, the department will continue to be a good steward of the environment, and consult with appropriate state, local, and tribal officials.''
In the second case Monday, the justices, acting at the administration's urging, agreed to review a federal appeals court ruling that limits the use of sonar in naval training exercises.
Sonar, which the Navy uses primarily to locate enemy submarines at sea, can interfere with marine mammals' ability to navigate and communicate.
The administration says the decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco could cripple the Navy's ability to train sailors and Marines for service in wartime.
The government also says that its use of mid-frequency sonar in training exercises hasn't caused any documented harm to dolphins or been proven to be involved in the beaching of whales -- and that national security can trump other interests in some cases anyway.
Some environmentalists said the Supreme Court's hearing of the case could finally settle what takes precedence -- national security or environmental protection.
Although the science is inconclusive, there is strong evidence that sonar affects marine mammals. The Navy's environmental assessment of the use of sonar in 14 training exercises off the California coast found it could disturb or harm an estimated 170,000 marine mammals, including causing temporary loss of hearing in at least 8,000 whales.
The case will be heard next fall.
In what is likely to be its final week before a long summer recess, the court has yet to resolve three major outstanding cases -- the consideration of Americans' gun rights, whether Exxon Mobil Corp. must pay punitive damages for the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 and the constitutionality of imposing the death penalty on people convicted of raping children.
The court will meet again on Wednesday.
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Associated Press writers Arthur H. Rotstein, Mark Sherman and Christopher Sherman contributed to this report. Christopher Sherman reported from Texas, and Rotstein reported from Arizona.
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