The Supreme Court justices seemed unconvinced Wednesday regarding a decision on whether President George Bush can exempt the Navy from federal environmental laws. The case is very important because it’s related to the protection of whales against the Navy’s sonar training exercises.

The Supreme Court is currently reviewing a ruling that asked the Navy to implement a series of precautions in order to diminish harm to numerous species of whales and dolphins. On Wednesday, the Court’s four justices expressed their skepticism about the fact that the Bush administration did not issue an environmental impact statement before sonar training exercises began off the southern California coast.

This is, without a doubt, the biggest environmental case that arose during President Bush’s second term. According to environmentalist groups, the intense sound waves used in sonar training exercises can harm or in some cases even kill dozens of species of whales. The Navy’s exercises interfere with the whales’ dive patterns causing them severe harm.

President Bush intervened after a judge issued a preliminary injunction imposing numerous restrictions on the Navy. The President cited the national security necessity and exempted the Navy from the environmental laws. However, a United States appeals court rejected the presidential move to exempt the Navy from environmental laws and the administration appealed to the Supreme Court and the justices seemed split over what decision to take.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said that the court is very clear of what lays in balance: the potential for harm to marine mammals versus “the potential that a North Korean diesel electric submarine will get within range of Pearl Harbor undetected” if the Navy doesn’t train its personnel properly in the use of sonar.

“Now, I think that’s a pretty clear balance,” Chief Justice Roberts said.

The importance of training the Navy personnel in the use of sonar is "vitally important" and "critical to the nation's own security," said Solicitor General Gregory Garre.

On Wednesday, Liberal Justices David Souter and Ruth Bader Ginsburg wanted to know why the Bush administration planed to issue the environmental impact statement in January when it would have been much appropriate to issue the statement in February of 2007 when the Navy began its sonar training.

"To the extent that there was an emergency, wasn't the emergency created by the failure of the Navy to take any timely action?" Souter asked Garre, the administration's top courtroom lawyer.

There is also some disagreement about how much the sonar exercises can harm whales and dolphins. According to Richard B. Kendall, a lawyer for the Natural Resources Defense Council, the sonar produces noise as loud as 2,000 jet engines and some whales or dolphins die because of it. Sonar works as ships emit a loud noise underwater and listen for whether the noise bounces back off a submarine.

On the other hand, Mr. Garre said the impact of sonar exercise is minor and short-lived. The sonar sound only makes the whales swim in a different direction when they hear it.

“It can also mean that they could have some temporary effect on their feeding or breeding patterns,” he added.

A ruling in the case is expected in early 2009.