US Supreme Court (file photo)

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a plea by environmentalists to stopthe Bush administration from bypassing federal laws to speedconstruction of a fence along the border with Mexico.

The highcourt Monday, turned down the challenge to the Department of HomelandSecurity using authority granted to it by Congress in 2005 to waivecertain environmental and land management laws to install the fencing.

Thecase involved a section of fence that was being built in a nationalconservation area - the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area -in Arizona.  

Environmentalists feared the project would disruptwildlife habitats. The Associated Press reports that section of theborder fence has since been build.

Also today, the Supreme Courtannounced it will review a federal appeals court ruling that limits theNavy's use of sonar in training exercises off the coast of California. The Bush administration wants the ruling to be reviewed.

Defenseofficials have argued that the anti-submarine sonar technology iscrucial to national security. Biologists have long said that sonar candisturb, injure or even kill marine mammals including dolphins andwhales. 

Some information for this report was provided by and Reuters.