October 4, 2021 — Over the objections of Washington state officials and orca advocates, the U.S. Navy is steaming ahead with a plan for seven more years of testing sonar and explosives in waters off the Northwest coast.
The Navy says the piercing noise from its tests and training activities could harm eight species of whales listed under the Endangered Species Act.
But Navy officials, backed up by the National Marine Fisheries Service, say the occasional, temporary disturbances won’t threaten the orcas’ or any other species’ survival.
“At this time the Navy intends to proceed over the objection of the State of Washington,” the Navy’s Record of Decision document, published Friday, states.