United States v. Federal Resources Corp.

This case concerns the district court’s obligations in reviewing a settlement made pursuant to the provisions of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 9601-75 , that authorize the United States to settle with a potentially responsible party (“PRP”) for an amount less than that PRP’s proportionate share of the cost to clean up a polluted site if it has a limited ability to pay. See 42 U.S.C. §§ 9622 (e)(3)(A), (f)(6)(B). The Coeur d’Alenes Company (“CDA”) entered into such a settlement with the government, and the district court approved it over the objections of intervenor Federal Resources Corporation (“FRC”) that the district court was required to conduct a comparative fault analysis and to scrutinize more closely the government’s assessment of CDA’s ability to pay. We affirm.

I

In 2011, the United States filed lawsuits against FRC and CDA, among other PRPs, in the District of Idaho to recover the cost of hazardous waste clean-up efforts at the Conjecture Mine Site in Bonner County, Idaho (the “Site”). The government proceeded against both parties under CERCLA, which “imposes strict liability on certain…