February 26, 2018 - 4:10 PM
BATON ROUGE, La. - The Latest on the legal battle over construction of a south Louisiana crude oil pipeline (all times local):
5:30 p.m.
Three people have been arrested at an oil pipeline construction site in south Louisiana.
An Assumption Parish Sheriff's Office commander confirmed Monday's arrest of three New Orleans residents at the site near Belle Rose.
Benjamin Quimby, Pippin Calder and Margaret Logue faced charges including resisting arrest. They were awaiting the setting of bail Monday evening.
Environmentalists have been fighting construction of a pipeline by Bayou Bridge Pipeline LLC. Late last week, a federal judge agreed to temporarily block construction in the environmentally sensitive Atchafalaya Basin. The company began appeal efforts Monday.
Anne Rolfes (RAHL'-fez), of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade environmental group, says the three arrested were among 50 demonstrators who protested Monday at a section of the pipeline project not affected by the judge's order.
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10 a.m.
A company building a crude oil pipeline through Louisiana's Cajun Country has asked a federal judge to suspend her order temporarily halting construction.
Bayou Bridge Pipeline LLC is asking U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick for a ruling on that request by Tuesday so that it can pursue an appeal "if necessary."
The company says halting its construction in the Atchafalaya Basin river swamp will cost it nearly $1 million per day, or more than $1.6 million if the order applies to the entire length of the pipeline in Louisiana.
Dick temporarily blocked construction Friday, pending a trial on a lawsuit by environmental groups. The groups sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in January, saying the Corps violated environmental laws by granting a permit for the pipeline.
News from © The Associated Press, 2018