§ 25-21,257.Environmental audit; use as evidence; waiver.
Article 21: Special Proceedings and Actions · Last amended 1998 · Last verified July 22, 2026
Full Text of § 25-21,257
Source
Laws 1998, LB 395, § 4.
Plain-English Summary
The privilege in section 25-21,256 belongs to the person for whom the audit was prepared — whether that person, an employee of the person, or a hired consultant wrote it — and this section makes clear that only that person can let it go. Except as provided in section 25-21,259, the privilege can be waived only by an express waiver.
Requiring an express waiver means the protection does not evaporate through casual conduct. Handing the audit to a regulator during an unrelated inspection, mentioning its existence in conversation, or disclosing part of its contents does not, by itself, waive the privilege — the section requires a deliberate, stated relinquishment of the protection, not an inference drawn from behavior around the document.
That said, the waiver right is not unconditional. It operates “except as provided in section 25-21,259,” which lists circumstances where a court can order the audit into evidence regardless of whether the person for whom it was prepared has waived anything at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has the power to waive the environmental audit privilege?
The person for whom the audit was prepared, regardless of whether that person, one of their employees, or a consultant they hired performed the audit.
Does showing the audit to a regulator waive the privilege automatically?
No. The section requires an express waiver, so disclosure alone, without a deliberate, stated waiver, does not give up the protection.
What counts as an “express waiver”?
The section does not spell out a required form, but it excludes implied or inadvertent waiver, requiring instead a specific, stated relinquishment of the privilege by the person for whom the audit was prepared.
Does this section override the exceptions in section 25-21,259?
No, the reverse is true. This section’s waiver right operates “except as provided in section 25-21,259,” meaning the circumstances listed there can put the audit into evidence independent of any waiver.
Can an employee who performed the audit waive the privilege on the company’s behalf?
The waiver right belongs to the person for whom the audit was prepared, not automatically to whichever employee or consultant carried it out.