(The Associated Press circulated the following on August 26, 2010.)
OMAHA, Neb. — A federal judge has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to stop destroying records Union Pacific requested about lead contamination in Omaha, and she’s appointed an expert to make sure the agency complies.
The judge’s order Thursday also resolved several issues the railroad and EPA couldn’t agree on when discussing the rules to protect records.
U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp picked the records expert EPA lawyers recommended, but she established a broad scope for the expert’s work, like the railroad requested.
The information Union Pacific seeks relates to 5,600 lead-contaminated properties in Omaha. The EPA and Union Pacific have been trying for years to settle who should pay more than $200 million to clean up the lead.