SAN NICOLAS ISLAND : Coastal Panel OKs Navy Gun Testing

The California Coastal Commission on Tuesday approved a request by the U.S. Navy to test-fire a sophisticated Gatling gun on San Nicolas Island in an area teeming with seals, sea lions and marine birds.

The decision came after the commission debated the proposal for more than two hours at its meeting in Los Angeles, said Alan Alpers, a spokesman for Point Mugu Naval Air Weapons Station.

Under the proposal, the Navy wants to test-fire an updated version of its Vulcan Phalanx Gatling gun off Navy-owned San Nicolas, which is located south of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and about 70 miles west of Point Mugu.

The test involves firing rounds--measuring about 8 inches in length and about 3 inches in diameter--at a variety of self-propelled and towed aerial targets, at a speed of about 4,500 rounds per minute.

Navy officials acknowledge the zone from which the gun will be fired sits between two areas on the island where an abundance of marine mammals and birds are located, including the endangered southern sea otter and the California brown pelican. Officials say these animals may be affected by noise from the tests and there is a remote possibility they could be hit by the projectiles.