A federal judge sided with the Miccosukee Tribe and ordered the state of Florida to resume construction of a reservoir in the Everglades.

The state spent $280 million on the reservoir but halted work in order to negotiate a land swap with U.S. Sugar Corp. Judge Federico Moreno said the project must continue in order to protect the tribe from further damage to its homelands.

"Although the partial sugar land acquisition may be in the best interests of the Everglades in the very distant future, the Tribe's environmental suffering is immediate," Moreno wrote in the decision, The Miami Herald reported.

"The time is now to go forward with the work that needs to be done on this project, which all parties agreed to be important," he added, The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported.

The state supported the reservoir as a way to clean up the Everglades, which suffers from pollution from the sugar industry.

Get the Story:
Ruling puts U.S. Sugar-Everglades land buy in peril (The Miami Herald 4/1)
Judge calls for finishing reservoir shelved by Gov. Crist’s Everglades land deal (The South Florida Sun Sentinel 3/31)
Court Ruling May Imperil Florida Deal (The New York Times 4/1)