News In Brief
Madison, Wis.
Midwest naval radio work halted over ecology snag
A federal judge ordered the Navy Tuesday to stop work immediately on its controversial Project ELF nuclear submarine communications system. Judge Barbara Crabb's permanent injunction ordered the Navy to halt construction of the system in upper Michigan, near Marquette, and not to upgrade its testing facility near Clam Lake in northern Wisconsin.
She said a 1977 environmental-impact statement filed with the Environmental Protection Agency was insufficient for the project and ordered the Navy to prepare a new statement.
The Navy was also ordered to stop putting ELF (extremely low frequency) receivers on submarines. The Navy says the system is intended to thwart Soviet attempts to jam radio signals in the event of a nuclear attack.