(Bloomberg) -- A federal judge cleared the way for a crowdfunded effort to build a section of President Donald Trump's Mexico border wall on private property along the Rio Grande, rejecting concerns that the project may violate an international treaty and endanger a butterfly habitat.
The ruling Thursday is a victory for We Build the Wall, a group started by allies of the president to raise donations for construction of barriers along the U.S. southern border. The group's advisory board is chaired by Steve Bannon and includes other conservative luminaries.
A day earlier, Trump's effort to put up a taxpayer-funded barrier across the entire border got another boost when a federal appeals court lifted an order blocking his use of $3.6 billion in military construction funds.
In the fight over the private wall project, U.S. District Judge Randy Crane in McAllen, Texas, refused to block plans for an 18-foot tall bollard barrier along a 3 1/2-mile stretch of the Rio Grande. He had temporarily put brakes on construction last month in response to a legal challenge.
Read More: Trump Freed by Court to Use Military Money to Build Border Wall
The U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission argued that the project might violate a 1970 treaty with Mexico barring any development that alters the Rio Grande's flow, while the National Butterfly Center raised concerns about possible flooding of a preserve where the insects dwell.
Javier Pena, a lawyer for the butterfly center, said the fight isn't over just because the judge refused to impose an injunction. His client may still seek damages, he said.
“They can go ahead and engage in construction,” he said. “In our case we'll gather the evidence and decide how we'll proceed.”
Crane last month agreed to release We Build the Wall from the water commission's suit after the group said it was a “passive investor” that contributed only 5% of the total cost of the project and has no control over the construction or the property on which it's located. The land owner and the construction company leading the project, Fisher Industries, remained as defendants.
Justice Department attorneys representing the water commission and representatives of Fisher Industries didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
The cases are U.S.A. v. Fisher Industries, 7:19-cv-403; and North American Butterfly Assn. v Neuhaus & Sons, 7:19-cv-411, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas (McAllen).
To contact the reporter on this story: Tom Korosec in New York at tkorosec@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Peter Blumberg, Anthony Lin
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