Sun Co., Inc. (R & M) v. Browning-Ferris, Inc.

919 F. Supp. 1523, 26 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 21199, 42 ERC (BNA) 1613, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4676
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Oklahoma
DecidedMarch 20, 1996
Docket94-C-820-K
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 919 F. Supp. 1523 (Sun Co., Inc. (R & M) v. Browning-Ferris, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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Sun Co., Inc. (R & M) v. Browning-Ferris, Inc., 919 F. Supp. 1523, 26 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 21199, 42 ERC (BNA) 1613, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4676 (N.D. Okla. 1996).

Opinion

ORDER

KERN, District Judge.

Now before this Court is the motion for summary judgment by Defendant Group II (“Defendants”)1 against Plaintiffs Sun Company, Inc. and Texaco, Inc. (“Plaintiffs”). Plaintiffs brought this action pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERC-LA”), 42 U.S.C. § 9601, et seq., for costs expended by Plaintiffs in response to an order by the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to perform remediation at the Compass landfill site (“the Site”), pursuant to section 106 of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. § 9606. Plaintiffs also seek a declaratory judgment declaring their right to recover past and future response costs attributable to cleanup of the Site. In addition, Plaintiffs assert state law claims of contribution and/or indemnity against Defendants.

I. Facts

The Site is a piece of property situated on the south bank of the Arkansas River in Tulsa County. It is an abandoned limestone quarry that was operated as a permitted landfill from 1972 to 1976. During the time of its operation, material containing hazardous substances within the meaning of CERCLA section 101(14), 42 U.S.C. § 9601(14), were delivered to the Site. This material began to be released into the soil, surface water, and groundwater near and beneath the Site. The EPA found amounts of hazardous substances in the soil and groundwater beneath the Site, including chemicals listed as hazardous substances within the meaning of section 101(14) of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. § 9601(14).

In September 1984, the EPA placed the Site on the National Priority List. 40 C.F.R. Part 300, App. B. On September 29, 1987, the EPA issued a Record of Decision (“ROD”), which selected a remedy for the site that was deemed by the EPA and the State of Oklahoma to be consistent with CERCLA and the National Contingency Plan (“NCP”), 33 U.S.C. § 1321(c); 42 U.S.C. § 9605; 40 C.F.R. Part 300, et seq. The remedy selected by the EPA specified a “RCRA” quality cap or cover to be placed over the contaminated material, with a synthetic liner between the cap and the contaminated materials to prevent seepage or drainage of rainwater, installation and monitoring of wells for purposes of compliance monitoring of groundwater, site grading, diversion of surface water, air emissions monitoring, installation of fences and signs along the perimeter of the cap, monitoring of the Site for a period of 30 years to ensure that no significant contamination concentrations migrate from the Site, and if necessary, collection and on-site treatment of contaminated groundwater. On May 31, 1989, in a Unilateral Administrative Order styled, In the Matter of Braniff Inc., et al., United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, Dallas, Texas, Docket Number CERCLA VI-05-89, the EPA ordered Plaintiffs, pursuant to section 106 of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. § 9606, to remediate the Site as set forth in the ROD. Plaintiffs Sun and Texaco agreed to perform the remediation in compliance with the Administrative Order and ROD. Plaintiffs be[1528]*1528gan remediation activities in January 1990. Response actions were completed on or by August 29, 1991. Plaintiffs incurred response costs as a result of the Administrative Order.

Plaintiffs filed the instant action on August 29, 1994, seeking to recover from Defendants the costs that Plaintiffs expended in response to the Administrative Order and seeking a declaratory judgment allocating liability for past and future response costs.

II. Discussion

A. Summary Judgment Standard

Summary judgment, pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 56, is appropriate where “there is no genuine issue as to any material fact” and “the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 817, 822, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2509-10, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Windon Third Oil and Gas v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 805 F.2d 342, 345 (10th Cir.1986), cert. denied, 480 U.S. 947, 107 S.Ct. 1605, 94 L.Ed.2d 791 (1987). The Supreme Court explains:

[T]he plain language of Rule 56(c) mandates the entry of summary judgment, after adequate time for discovery and upon motion, against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial.

Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct. at 2552. “The questions of statutory construction and legislative history raised herein present legal questions properly resolved by summary judgment.” State of Oklahoma ex rel. Dept. of Human Services v. Weinberger, 741 F.2d 290, 291 (10th Cir.1983), cert. denied sub nom Farrah v. United States, 466 U.S. 971, 104 S.Ct. 2343, 80 L.Ed.2d 817 (1984) (citing Union Pacific Land Resources Corporation v. Moench Investment Company, Ltd., 696 F.2d 88 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 460 U.S. 1085, 103 S.Ct. 1776, 76 L.Ed.2d 348 (1982)).

B. CERCLA Causes of Action

The first issue is which causes of action are available to Plaintiffs under CERCLA, as amended by the Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (“SARA”), 100 Stat. 1613 (1986). In United States v. Colorado & Eastern Railroad, 50 F.3d 1530 (10th Cir.1995), the Tenth Circuit explained that CERCLA provides two types of legal actions by which parties can recoup some or all of their costs associated with hazardous waste cleanup: cost recovery actions under CERCLA section 107(a), 42 U.S.C. § 9607(a), and contribution actions under CERCLA section 113(f), 42 U.S.C. § 9613(f). Id. at 1535.

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Sun Co., Inc.(R & M) v. Browning-Ferris, Inc.
919 F. Supp. 1523 (N.D. Oklahoma, 1996)

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919 F. Supp. 1523, 26 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 21199, 42 ERC (BNA) 1613, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4676, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sun-co-inc-r-m-v-browning-ferris-inc-oknd-1996.