Nevada County is part of a four-county waterway pollution lawsuit settlement with Union Pacific Railroad. District Attorney Cliff Newell says he initiated the litigation, after he says the company wasn’t very responsive to complaints about mishandling hazardous wastes, including petroleum, over an eight-year period, at the Norden snow sheds…

The complaint says the railroad mishandled materials stored in aboveground storage tanks and maintained inaccurate material business plans. Newell says while he was considering filing the suit he discovered that Placer, San Joaquin, and San Bernardino counties had similar concerns. So a joint lawsuit was filed. Union Pacific has agreed to settle for two-point-three million dollars, with Nevada County getting 400-thousand dollars…

Newell says the compliance program requires the railroad to review and repair its facilities, and adopt policies and procedures to assure the safety of Nevada County’s natural environment.