BATON ROUGE (CN) — The federal judge who granted environmentalists’ injunction to stop a pipeline from crossing the Atchafalaya Basin concluded that public interest in wetlands outweighs a company’s potential financial setbacks.

In a 60-page ruling Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick states why she suspended construction of the Bayou Bridge Pipeline through the Atchafalaya Basin on Feb. 23, until the case can be tried on its merits.

Dick said the pipeline threatens the health and longevity of the Atchafalaya Basin, the largest river swamp in North America. She agreed with environmentalists who filed the lawsuit that the centuries-old cypress and tupelo trees in the path of the pipeline are irreplaceable...