Guam AG Continued Push for Federal Compensation for Cleanup at Ordot Dump

MARCH 30, 2022

Guam Attorney General Leevin Taitano Camacho announced that his office is launching an effort to collect public accounts of military waste dumping at the Ordot Dump, which was used for hazardous waste disposal starting after World War II and has been a Superfund site since 1983. The site has been the subject of an ongoing legal battle between Guam and the federal government since 2002 when EPA sued Guam to clean the site up. In 2017, Guam sued the Department of Defense (DOD) under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), arguing that the agency should contribute to cleanup costs. DOD argued that the statute of limitations had passed, but last May, the Supreme Court rejected this argument. As the case continues to move forward, AG Camacho is gathering historical accounts of how the site has been used.