WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An Arizona mining company has asked a federal court to void a $220 million settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency, saying it found the Justice Department was conducting an criminal investigation of the agency over the case.
Asarco, a unit of Grupo Mexico, has long accused the EPA of concealing records that would clear the company from claims it polluted thousands of properties with lead near Omaha, Nebraska, where it operated a smelter for more than 50 years. Asarco says that lead paint from houses caused the pollution, not the plant.
