Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. v. Winter

• Citation: 508 F.3d 885
• Decision Date: 13 November 2007
• Docket Number: No. 07-56157.,07-56157.
• Parties: NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL, INC.; The International Fund for Animal Welfare; Cetacean Society International; League for Coastal Protection; Ocean Futures Society; Jean-Michel Cousteau, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. Donald C. WINTER, Secretary of the Navy; United States Department of the Navy; Carlos M. Gutierrez, Secretary of the Department of Commerce; National Marine Fisheries Services; William Hogarth, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration; Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., Administrator of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, Defendants-Appellants.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (9th Circuit)

508 F.3d 885

NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL, INC.; The International Fund for Animal Welfare; Cetacean Society International; League for Coastal Protection; Ocean Futures Society; Jean-Michel Cousteau, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. Donald C. WINTER, Secretary of the Navy; United States Department of the Navy; Carlos M. Gutierrez, Secretary of the Department of Commerce; National Marine Fisheries Services; William Hogarth, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration; Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., Administrator of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, Defendants-Appellants.

No. 07-56157.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

November 13, 2007.

Alan J. Heinrich, Esq., Irell & Manella, LLP, Los Angeles, CA, Cara Horowitz, Esq., Natural Resources Defense Council, Santa Monica, CA, for Plaintiffs-Appellees.

Kathryn E. Kovacs, Esq., Allen M. Brabender, Esq., U.S. Department of Justice Environment & Natural Resources Division, Washington, DC, Michael R. Eitel, Esq., U.S. Department of Justice Environment & Natural Resources Division, Denver, CO, for Defendants-Appellants.

Before: B. FLETCHER, D.W. NELSON, and REINHARDT, Circuit Judges.

ORDER

This appeal concerns the Navy's use of mid-frequency active sonar in fourteen training exercises off the coast of Southern California. The Navy completed three of these exercises in February and March of this year. On August 7, 2007, the district court entered a preliminary injunction prohibiting the Navy from using mid-frequency active sonar during the course of the eleven remaining exercises. On August 31, 2007, a motions panel of this court granted the Navy's motion to stay the preliminary injunction pending appeal. At oral argument held before this court on November 8, 2007, the Navy reported that since the stay was entered it has conducted one more exercise, and that an exercise currently underway would be completed by November 22, 2007. The Navy plans to conduct its next exercise in January 2008.

Plaintiffs have met the necessary burden of proof to demonstrate that some form of preliminary injunctive relief is appropriate. Specifically, Plaintiffs have shown a strong likelihood of success on the merits of their claims under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. § 4321 et seq., and the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA), 16 U.S.C. § 1451 et seq., as well as the possibility of irreparable injury if relief is not granted. Plaintiffs have also shown that the balance of hardships tips in their favor if a properly tailored injunction is issued providing that the Navy's operations may proceed if conducted under circumstances that provide satisfactory safeguards for the protection of the environment. Moreover, the public interest would be advanced by an injunction that required adequate mitigation measures.

We agree with the motions panel that the "[t]he district court did not explain why a broad, absolute injunction against the use of the medium frequency active sonar in these complex training exercises for two years was necessary to avoid irreparable harm to the environment." NRDC v. Winter,...