Court rules Las Vegas liable for cleaning up old rail yard

The city of Las Vegas is responsible for cleanup costs at the Symphony Park site downtown, a judge ruled recently.

Las Vegas and the Union Pacific Railroad, which used to own the 61-acre site, had been feuding over who will pay for cleaning up the former rail yard. At issue are cleanup costs that could reach $30 million.

In May 2009, the city and the railroad agreed to split $10 million of that cost so construction of the Smith Center for the Performing Arts could begin.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Philip Pro found that the property was sold "as is" when stadium developers acquired it in 1996 and that the railroad's responsibility for cleanup was limited. Those designations "run with the land," he wrote, adding that the city "knew of the relevant covenants regarding environmental obligations" before acquiring it.

Symphony Park was once part of a much larger tract that was used as a train switchyard and fueling station for decades. The ground and groundwater became contaminated with petroleum products, lead and arsenic.

The state Division of Environmental Protection made the railroad clean up soil and groundwater starting in 1992, in part to prepare a site for the Clark County Government Center. The cleanup focused on the 61 acres that now belong to the city.

The state agency signed off on the soil cleanup in 1998 and the groundwater in 2000.

Symphony Park is home to a brain research center run by the Cleveland Clinic and the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute as well as the under-construction performing arts center.

Plans call for other high-end development, including hotels, a new casino, homes and possibly even a sports arena, which means more environmental cleanup may be necessary. For now, many of those plans have been put on hold because of the economy.

Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate@reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435.