Evans

FINAL ORDER DENYING PERMANENT INJUNCTION

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiffs Australians for Animals, et al, seek a permanent injunction to prevent Defendant Peter Stein (“Dr.Stein”) from conducting oceanographic research involving the use of under-water sonar. The National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”), a co-Defendant, issued Dr. Stein a permit to perform this type of research (the “Permit”), and the legitimacy of the Permit represents the heart of this dispute. In January 2003, this Court invalidated a similar permit that NMFS had issued for the same research (as well as other activities unrelated to the present litigation), holding that NMFS violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in authorizing that permit without undertaking a thorough review of the project’s possible environmental impact. In the January 2003 Order, this Court enjoined NMFS from issuing any permit allowing similar research without first completing an Environmental Assessment (“EA”). In response to Dr. Stein’s recent application, NMFS conducted an Environmental Assessment (“the Stein EA”) and subsequently issued the Permit now in question. Plaintiffs allege that NMFS, in issuing the Permit and in…