Environment

Superfund

We assist our clients in navigating their way through proceedings under the federal Superfund law to achieve the most cost-effective result. We are even called upon to provide our services to entire groups of potentially responsible parties as common or lead counsel.

Greenberg Glusker attorneys have defended our clients against U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allegations of liability, responded to administrative orders and negotiated consent decrees. We have worked with, and against, other parties to allocate fairly the financial responsibility for cleanup costs.  Our attorneys effectively use alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures to reach fair and equitable results for our clients.

Representative Experience

  • Represented an aerospace manufacturer at a major Southern California Superfund site in proceedings, allocating liability among dozens of other potentially responsible parties. Through arbitration, we appealed the initial allocation and won a 95% reduction in our client's liability. We later helped negotiate a favorable consent decree with U.S. EPA.
  • Representing a group of over 20 companies whom U.S. EPA has alleged are responsible parties at a major Superfund site in California. The group is defending against EPA's claims on the ground that the waste attributed to them was contaminated with petroleum only - a substance that is not within the scope of the federal Superfund law.
  • Lead counsel for defendant Union Pacific in Arconic, Inc., et al. v. APC Investment Co., et al., USDC California Central District Case No. 2:14-cv-06456-GW, a CERCLA contribution action involving over $125 million in alleged past and future response costs to address the contaminant plume impacting Operable Unit No. 2 of the Omega Superfund Site.
  • Represented EEMUS Corp. and Servex Corp. in the San Gabriel Valley Superfund Site SEMOU CERCLA groundwater litigation (San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority v. Aerojet-General Corporation, et al.(C.D. Cal. Case No. CV 02-4565), and related cases) and USEPA proceedings. Successfully negotiated two Consent Decrees with USEPA and “good faith” settlements with water entity plaintiffs, resulting in combined client contributions of less than 2% of projected remedy costs. See San Gabriel Valley Water Co. v. Aerojet General Corp., 606 F.3d 1142 (9th Cir. 2010)
  • Represented clients at following California federal and state Superfund sites or sediment sites: Aerojet- General (Sacramento); Ultra-Chem Site; Baldwin Park Operable Unit, El Monte Operable Unit, Puente Valley Operable Unit, and South El Monte Operable Unit (San Gabriel Valley Superfund Sites); Casmalia Resources; Operating Industries, Inc.; North Hollywood Operable Unit, and Pollock Operable Unit (San Fernando Valley Superfund Sites); Rialto-Colton/BF Goodrich; San Diego Shipyard Site; Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine.
  • Represented ranching company in lawsuit involving open-pit mining and Superfund site, including claims relating to water rights, common law tort claims, and CERCLA claims, and involving issues related to acid mine drainage, statutes of limitations, continuing tort, and restoration damages.