Environmental group Coastkeeper brought a lawsuit on Tuesday against the US Department of Defense, alleging that the US Navy is polluting the San Diego Bay area through its continued discharge of toxin-laden water into the ocean.

Coastkeeper is charging that the navy is contaminating water in the bay with heavy metals at a rate some 400 times the legally defined limit.

Said Coastkeeper attorney Cory Briggs, “We wanted to give the Navy and the regional board an opportunity to come into compliance on their own. But enough time has elapsed, and they have proven that they are unable to do that. It’s not fair to industries that have to comply with the Clean Water Act when their federal neighbor gets off scot-free.”