(FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTS) - Construction of a crude oil pipeline through Louisiana's environmentally fragile Atchafalaya Basin swamp can continue, under a federal appeals court decision handed down Friday.
A divided panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a lower court's preliminary injunction blocking construction of the Bayou Bridge Pipeline.
The 2-1 decision was a victory for Bayou Bridge Pipeline LLC, whose lawyers had urged the panel to
throw out the previous U.S. District Judge's injunction in April.
The decision comes after a number of lawsuits by environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, Atchafalaya BasinKeeper and others. Collectively, the groups said the pipeline potentially threatens the wetlands and centuries-old ‘legacy trees’ which can’t be replaced once they’re cut down. The pipeline company recently told the court that it expects to complete construction by October.