Case Study

RCRA Cause of Action at CERCLA Site

Provided research and consulting support in a case involving a Southern NPL site that had also filed for RCRA interim status. State and other plaintiff’s alleged that RCRA’s Direct Action Provision and Financial Responsibility Requirements provided an independent cause of action to be reimbursed for Superfund and State-related claim expenditures by the site’s RCRA insurance carriers. Research conducted for Defense Group revealed that: 1) neither RCRA nor CERCLA’s provisions or legislative history ever contemplated such a relationship; and 2) that for time period on interest, RCRA’s financial responsibility requirements did not involve corrective action. Judge dismissed plaintiff’s claim of a CERCLA cause of action under RCRA.