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United States V Atlantic Research Corp.: Who Should Pay To Clean Up Inactive Hazardous Waste Sites?, Aaron Gershonowitz

Aaron Gershonowitz

In United States v Atlantic Research Corp., 127 S. Ct. 2331 (2007), the Supreme Court held that a person who voluntarily remediated an inactive hazardous waste site could bring a cost recovery action under § 107(a) of the Superfund Law. The decision includes a major reexamination of who may bring a Superfund cost recovery claim. Additionally, because three years earlier, in Cooper Industries v Aviall Services Corp., 543 U.S. 157 (2004), the Court held that a volunteer could not bring a contribution claim, the Court needed to redefine the relationship between § 107(a) (the Superfund Law’s primary liability provision) and …