NCLC Asks Court to Require Federal Government to Pay Its Fair Share of Environmental Cleanup Costs

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The federal government should pay its fair share for environmental cleanup costs as required by the nation's Superfund law—also known as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)—according to an amicus brief filed today by the National Chamber Litigation Center (NCLC) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas in Raytheon Aircraft Company v. United States of America.

"Private parties will be forced to pay for the cleanup of environmental damage caused by the federal government unless the courts step in," said NCLC's Senior Vice President Robin Conrad. "Congress recognized that the federal government significantly contributed to the degradation of the nation's environment, and required the federal government to comply with the law to the same extent as private parties."

In this case, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a unilateral administrative order (UAO) requiring Raytheon to clean up toxic pollutants at an airport in Kansas previously owned and operated by the United States military. EPA contends that the issuance of this order eliminated Raytheon's right to seek contributions from the federal government, which allegedly dumped the pollutants.

In its brief, the NCLC argues that the lack of meaningful judicial review renders the UAO void as a violation of due process, and that the EPA has other methods of ensuring that a private party clean up a polluted site.

"EPA should not be allowed to insulate the federal government from responsibility for the environmental damage it caused by issuing unilateral administrative orders," said Conrad. "That's wrong, and the courts should say so."

NCLC, a membership organization that advocates fair treatment of business in the courts and before regulatory agencies, is the public policy law firm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

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