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An Omaha man is suing the University of Nebraska in an attempt to curb the balloon release tradition that happens at Husker football games, citing a 1976 federal law governing waste disposal.

In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court Tuesday, Randall Krause said the mass balloon release results in the open dumping of solid waste, which is prohibited under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

Over the last half century, Krause alleges in his lawsuit, NU has promoted a balloon release during home Husker football games in the fall after the team scores its first points in which thousands of spectators take part.

After the balloons are released, they are “carried away by the wind and forces of nature,” Krause said, traveling beyond university property and potentially landing hundreds or thousands of miles away.

“Husker balloons can even land in the Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean,” the lawsuit states.

Because they no longer serve their purpose of “enhancing the fan experience” once released, Krause argues the balloons have “become solid waste the moment they are out of sight of the fans.”