CHANNEL ISLANDS : Navy Expects Permit for Underwater Tests

Navy officials said they expect to receive a permit today authorizing them to start a program that involves detonating underwater explosives to test warship hulls and electronics in the sealife-rich waters west of the Channel Islands.

But even though they are scheduled to take possession of the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Letter of Authorization--which will allow them to detonate underwater explosives as large as 10,000 pounds--Navy officials said the “ship-shock” trials are not scheduled to begin until early next month.

Navy officials said the service agreed to that date, proposed by a national environmental group, in part because it will take nearly a month to set up the elaborate tests in the designated area, 65 miles west of the Channel Islands.

The testing program, which authorizes an “incidental take” of sea mammals--some of which are listed as federally endangered--has prompted a firestorm of protests by local and national environmental activists.