ROANOKE, Va. — The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has put a hold on newly issued permits that would have allowed the Mountain Valley Pipeline to cross bodies of water bodies.

The Roanoke Times reports the court on Monday granted a full stay after hearing oral arguments in the morning from environmental groups concerned about the pollution of nearly 1,000 streams and wetlands.

The ruling means the buried natural gas pipeline cannot cross water bodies, either by boring under or trenching through them, until the 4th Circuit rules on an underlying challenge of the permits. That is not expected until next year.