LINCOLN, NEB. ? The state of Nebraska rested its case Tuesday in the trial accusing state officials of conspiring to thwart plans for a multistate nuclear waste site in Boyd County.

At stake for Nebraska taxpayers is $200 million the high-end estimate of what the state could be ordered to pay if it loses the case.

The site was meant to store low-level radioactive waste from Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf is hearing the case. He expects to make a decision by the end of September.

The state began its defense July 10, some five weeks after lawyers for the group of states suing Nebraska ended their case.

“I feel very confident we demonstrated that the process was handled properly,” said Brad Reynolds, Nebraska’s lead attorney on the case.

Lawyers for the other states were expected to call one more rebuttal witness Tuesday to wrap up the trial. Lawyers for both sides will then submit briefs to Kopf and return for final arguments Sept. 10.

The lawsuit accuses Nebraska of acting in bad faith by not licensing the facility in 1998.

State officials said they denied the license because of concerns over possible pollution and a high-water table near the proposed site in northeast Nebraska.

Nebraska has rejected allegations that former Gov. Ben Nelson, now a U.S. senator, and other officials conspired to submarine plans for the dump.

The lawsuit initially was filed by utilities that generate radioactive waste. The four other states slated to use the dump later joined the lawsuit.

The battle had its genesis in 1970, when Nevada, South Carolina and Washington grew tired of accepting low-level radioactive waste from the rest of the country.

Congress told states in 1980 to build their own dumps or join regional groups to dispose of the waste, which includes contaminated tools and clothing from nuclear power plants, hospitals and research centers.

Nebraska joined Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana in 1983 to form the Central Interstate Low-level Radioactive Waste Compact. The other states voted in 1987 to put the dump in Nebraska.

The fight began soon after, with both sides wrestling in court on several issues.

Most of the lawyers involved in the case expect it to eventually end up in the U.S. Supreme Court.