The answer could play a key role in a legal battle over the facility’s fate. And it has bigger implications, too.

A judge ruled that the state and federal governments acted illegally by not conducting an environmental review before building the center in the Florida Everglades.

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams' injunction formalized a temporary halt she had ordered two weeks ago as witnesses continued to testify in a multiday hearing to determine whether construction should end until the ultimate resolution of the case.