LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Opponents of a $2.1 billion coal-fired power plant being built in southwest Arkansas are hailing the importance of an appeal's court decision that upheld a judge's order halting work at part of the site.
But Southwestern Electric Power Co. said Thursday the ruling only means a judge will decide whether a permit for the work on 8 acres of wetland should go back to the Army Corps of Engineers.
The temporary injunction stopped work on a water intake from the Little River and stopped the utility from stringing transmission lines across the Little and Red rivers.
The Sierra Club says the 29-page ruling marks a "giant step" toward halting operation of the plant, which is 70 percent complete.
The ruling says there is the threat of irreparable environmental harm.
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