Fifteen AGs Filed Amicus Brief in Supreme Court Superfund Case

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring led a coalition of 15 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Atlantic Richfield Co. (ARCO) v. Christian, et. al., in support of a Montana Supreme Court decision that allowed landowners to seek restoration damages from the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) whose Anaconda smelting operation contaminated land with toxic metals. In 1983, the land at and near the ARCO facility was declared a Superfund site by the EPA under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The attorneys general filed their amicus brief in support of the Montana Supreme Court’s decision that state law allows the landowners to hold ARCO liable for the amount necessary to restore their properties to pre-contamination levels — a standard beyond what is required by federal law — because doing so did not interfere with cleanup efforts and would fund additional cleanup in accordance with state law.