On Friday, February 23, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction against continued construction of the Bayou Bridge Pipeline, which is slated to cross North America’s largest swamp, the Atchafalaya Basin in southern Louisiana. District court judge Shelly Dick’s decision came after a series of hearings during which environmental groups showed evidence that the construction would cause irreparable harm to the wetland ecosystem.

During courtroom appearances in early February, representatives from the plaintiff organizations—the Sierra Club, Atchafalaya Basinkeeper, the Louisiana Crawfish Producers Association (West), Gulf Restoration Network, and Waterkeeper Alliance—testified that the pipeline construction has been cutting down ancient cypress and tupelo trees serving as the swamp ecosystem’s backbone, and this will in turn wreak havoc on the habitat of local and migratory birds. New construction on the pipeline, which is being built by Energy Transfer Partners (the same firm behind the Dakota Access Pipeline), will be halted while the court hears a broader lawsuit against the project. “The court’s ruling recognizes the serious threat this pipeline poses to the Atchafalaya Basin, one of our country’s ecological and cultural crown jewels,” Jan Hasselman, an attorney with Earthjustice representing plaintiffs, said in a statement. “For now, at least, the Atchafalaya is safe from this company’s incompetence and greed.”

ETP filed a request for Dick to suspend her order to halt the pipeline construction on Monday and asked the judge to make a decision regarding the request by Tuesday. The company plans to appeal the injunction if the judge's order still stands after Tuesday. 

Even as the judge’s ruling threw the future of the project into doubt, grassroots opposition to the 162-mile pipeline is intensifying. On Monday, local environmentalists with the Louisiana Bucket Brigade led a group of banner-toting protesters to sit on the exposed sections of the pipeline while calling to ETP workers to stop their excavators. Three of the 50 protesters were arrested by the Assumption Parish Sheriff’s Office and are facing charges that include resisting arrest. 

“It is very muddy here, and their permit says they are not supposed to construct when it is very muddy and wet, because of the exacerbation of the damage they will do,” a protester said on Facebook Live, accusing ETP of violating its construction permit. When asked about the protest, Atchafalaya Basinkeeper’s Abbie Marks said it is common for the company to continue construction in spite of the court order. “[The ruling] is a really good break right now for us. We’re excited to continue pursuing our legal case,” Marks told Sierra.

This article has been modified since its original posting.