US v. JG-24, Inc. No. 04-2577 is a CERCLA case. The District Court held that the a number of companies were jointly and severally liable, and affirmed and enforced the civil penalties for a “failure to respond in writing to the EPA’s request for information.” The appellants had argued that the required cleanup was inconsistent with the “National Contingency Plan (NCP), 40 C.F.R. pt. 300 (2004)” because the EPA wanted 21 months to begin removing the bad stuff. But, applying Chevron, the First finds that the EPA did a good enough job applying the regs, and the companies committed a lot of sins If you are interested in environmental law this is a good read, because it deals with the question of how to deal with additional findings made after the excavation starts.
As to penalties under 42 U.S.C. § 6927(a) for not producing information, the First finds – with little explanation – that the EPA was right to assess per diem fines.
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