The D.C. Circuit dismissed a mining company's lawsuit challenging EPA's decision to place the entire Bonita Peak Mining District, located in Colorado's Mineral Belt, on the NPL. The mining company owns a mine located in the district, but its mine was not one of the sites scored under the hazard rank...

A district court held that residents of the West Calumet Housing Complex in East Chicago cannot intervene in a CERCLA settlement agreement after the agreement was approved. In 2016, residents of the housing complex were told to evacuate the complex because of severe contamination from the USS Lead S...

A district court dismissed CERCLA claims against a construction company because there was no evidence that its actions contributed to soil contamination near the site. A contractor purchased topsoil from a company that is adjacent to a road where the construction company installed a water main three...

A district court held that a government contractor may be liable under CERCLA in connection with the Gold King mine spill in Colorado. In 2016, the contractor caused a breach that released more than 3 million gallons of acid mine drainage and 880,000 pounds of heavy metals into the Animas River wate...

A district court held that a California city does not have to pay a settlement to a dry cleaner for chemical contamination near his property per a condition of their settlement agreement. After discovering a perchloroethylene (PCE) contamination plume in downtown Visalia, California, the California ...

The Court of Federal Claims held that a land owner is entitled to compensation for wells and an access road installed to monitor contamination on a property adjacent to Fort Detrick. A Maryland landowner was faced with a demand under CERCLA from EPA for access to his property to install wells for th...

The Montana Supreme Court held that owners of private land within a Superfund site can proceed with a compensation suit against an oil company to restore their properties beyond the remedies approved by EPA for the Superfund site as a whole. An oil company entered into a consent decree with EPA to r...

A district court held that the federal government must answer claims that it is liable for the cleanup of World War II-era hazardous waste from 12 oil refineries in seven states. Property owners brought a contribution claim against the U.S. government under CERCLA, claiming that the government exerc...

The Fourth Circuit held that a proposed class of residents alleging that improper chemical disposal at a Frederick, Maryland, Army base contaminated their groundwater can't sue the government. The residents brought a claim under the Federal Torts Claim Act alleging that the Army negligently disposed...

A district court held that a solar energy company that entered into an agreement to close a landfill and turn it into a solar farm cannot recover closure costs under CERCLA. The solar company bought the property and entered into an agreement with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection...