Navy exempted from sonar limits Military permit overrides marine protection act Tuesday, July 16, 2002 - WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Navy got permission Monday to send out massive underwater sound blasts to hunt enemy submarines throughout the world's oceans, even though the sounds are louder than what whales and humans can tolerate at close range. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Monday that its fisheries division granted the Navy a permit that exempts it from the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The surveillance technology could harass and injure "negligible" numbers of whales, sea turtles and other marine mammals, but not...