High Court’s CERCLA Ruling Adds Uncertainty To Cleanups, Lawyers Warn

The high court’s ruling giving state courts jurisdiction to hear contamination damages claims but preserving EPA authority to decide on any additional Superfund remedy may add uncertainty to the finality of cleanup decisions, creating openings for landowners seeking remedy revisions provided they obtain EPA’s approval, say attorneys. The high court’s ruling “reaches the reasonable result that the federal government’s cleanup decision under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) . . . probably cannot be superseded by a...