U.S. v. W.R. Grace
Up one levelThe U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion that begins:
Libby, Montana, sits sixty-five miles south of the Canadian border. The seemingly rustic and picturesque environment of this area masks a troubling history--the community has been plagued with asbestos-related contamination.
In 1999, the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") was called in to address disturbing health reports due to asbestos-related contamination. We must decide whether, in responding to this threat, the EPA exceeded the bounds of its authority to conduct cleanup activities under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act ("CERCLA"), 42 U.S.C. § 9601 et seq. We hold that it did not.