A federal judge has denied an attempt to halt construction of Atlanta’s public safety training center after an environmental group sued over alleged violations of the Clean Water Act.

The South River Watershed Alliance filed a lawsuit in August against the City of Atlanta and the Atlanta Police Foundation. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that the lawsuit claimed “stormwater discharges from the Atlanta training facility construction site were not in compliance with the general permit.”

The AJC’s Riley Bunch writes, “The lawsuit says members of the group worry about sediment from the training center site impacting Intrenchment Creek and wildlife.”

Bunch adds that the suit claims the construction site was cleared before required sediment storage bins were completed, “resulting in stormwater from the site discharging into the creek.”

The complainants reportedly asked that construction halt “while the court determines if the city and police foundation violated the Clean Water Act,” Bunch explains.

However, U.S. District Court Judge J.P. Boulee in the Northern District Court of Georgia denied the request Thursday morning, saying that there is not enough evidence that the city has violated federal environmental standards to justify the pause.

“The Court cannot find — at this stage of the proceedings — that Plaintiff has presented enough evidence to prove there is a substantial likelihood that Defendants’ construction of the Facility is discharging enough sediment to interfere with Intrenchment Creek’s designated use,” Boulee reportedly wrote in his decision.

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