The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s $175 million purchase of five islands in the heart of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has been cleared to move forward, even as legal challenges continue.

On Thursday, the 3rd District Court of Appeal lifted a temporary stay order it had issued in June that briefly prevented the sale from closing. A coalition of environmental groups and local water districts, along with San Joaquin and Contra Costa counties, had requested the stay as part of a broader lawsuit challenging the sale.