PORT TOWNSEND —Naval Magazine Indian Island is named in a lawsuit as one of the locations where alleged violations of environmental protection laws have occurred.
The charge comes from two environmental organizations — Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a Washington, D.C., organization, and Wild Fish Conservancy, based in Duvall, east of Seattle — which filed suit against the Navy in federal court on Monday.
The groups are claiming that detonating explosives in the Puget Sound and Admiralty Inlet is harmful to marine life and is violating both the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.
Both laws require an assessment of environmental impact before detonations are allowed in the area — something both groups claim has not been done.
Also named as defendants in the suit are the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the National Marine Fisheries Service for failing to hold the Navy accountable to the laws.
On Monday, Brian Knutsen, a Seattle attorney representing both of the environmental groups told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that his clients believed the Navy was in clear violation of the laws.
The lawsuit charges the Navy with conducting three to five training exercises every month in which explosives are detonated in the Hood Canal, Crescent Harbor and the Admiralty Inlet near Port Townsend.
Navy representatives did not respond to the allegations on Tuesday afternoon, saying they were still looking into the matter.
Shiela Murray, spokeswoman for Naval Magazine Indian Island, said she was not sure of the exact amount or locations of detonations in the Port Townsend area.
