Activists in Puerto Rico are celebrating a key victory after a controversial gas pipeline dubbed the “death route” by its critics has effectively been halted. Puerto Rico’s electric power authority reportedly sent an official request Thursday asking the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to withdraw a permit application for the 92-mile pipeline. Opponents said the pipeline would have devastated the environment and put residents at risk of deadly explosions. Last year, activist and biology Professor Arturo Massol appeared on Democracy Now! to talk about the project.

Arturo Massol: “The concern, from the community point of view, is the ecological damage and the risk that the pipeline will pose to over 200,000 people. It’s also about the economy. It won’t reduce the cost of energy. We have engineers evaluating all of the infrastructure and potential benefits, and there’s no benefit for the people of Puerto Rico, economically speaking.”