ELR Citation: ELR 20351
No(s). CV 91-1428 SVW (JRX) (C.D. Cal. Nov 14, 1991)

The court rules that the petroleum exclusion in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) covers all forms of petroleum, including crude oil and its fractions, petroleum fuels and oils, and other refined petroleum products. The exclusion applies even if CERCLA-listed hazardous substances are indigenous in the petroleum or are additives normally added to the petroleum during refining. A provision of the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments designating benzene from gasoline as a hazardous air pollutant does not alter the scope of CERCLA's petroleum exclusion. The court also rules that the petroleum exclusion applies to used petroleum products, provided that CERCLA-listed hazardous substances have not been added to the petroleum during its use or the concentrations of CERCLA-listed hazardous substances have not been increased by its use. Finally, the court rules that soil that is mixed with petroleum material covered by the petroleum exclusion is nonhazardous under CERCLA if the soil itself is not a CERCLA-listed hazardous substance. A nonhazardous substance, such as petroleum mixed with clean soil, remains a nonhazardous substance whether it remains in its original location or is excavated and removed.

Counsel for Plaintiffs
Frank Melton, Gordon Goldsmith
Tuttle & Taylor
355 S. Grand Ave., 40th Fl., Los Angeles CA 90071
(213) 683-0600

Counsel for Defendants
Richard Montevideo
Rutan & Tucker
611 Anton Blvd., Ste. 1400, P.O. Box 1950, Costa Mesa CA 92628
(714) 641-5100