SEATTLE (AP) — Governor Jay Inslee and other state officials have criticized a Navy military testing program that would potentially harm endangered orcas if approved.
The Seattle Times reported that the planned military exercises include testing torpedoes, deploying underwater sonar and exploding bombs in waters from northern California to Alaska.
The program would not allow any southern resident orcas to be killed, but could interfere with hunting, feeding, socializing and breeding.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has said the impact of the program would be “negligible.”
Gov. Inslee and several agencies want NOAA to incorporate new limits on the program to reduce potential harm.