A divided federal appeals court on Thursday allowed the state of Florida to at least temporarily stop dismantling the quickly constructed detention facility dubbed “Aligator Alczatraz.”
In a 2-1 ruling, a panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals put on hold a trial judge’s order that Florida stop further construction and begin taking down the facility planted in the world-famous Everglades. The majority reasoned, in part, that the detention facility was a state project not subject to a federal environmental law.
“The Florida-funded and Florida operated detention activities occurring at the Site do not conceive a ‘major federal project,'” Judge Barbara Lagoa wrote.
Lagoa, appointed by President Donald Trump, added that “neither the construction nor the use of the facility constitutes a major federal action” that would trigger compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and its requirements for an environmental assessment or a full-bore environmental impact statement.
