Pakootas

Joseph A. Pakootas and Donald R. Michel (collectively “Pakootas”) filed suit to enforce a Unilateral Administrative Order (Order) issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) against Teck Comineo Metals, Ltd. (Teck), a Canadian corporation. The Order requires Teck to conduct a remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS) in a portion of the Columbia River entirely within the United States, where hazardous substances disposed of by Teck have come to be located. We decide today whether a citizen suit based on Teck’s alleged noncompliance with the Order is a domestic or an extraterritorial application of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 9601-9675 . Further, we address Teck’s argument that it is not liable for having “arranged for disposal” of hazardous substances because it disposed of the hazardous substances itself, rather than arranging for disposal “by any other party or entity.” § 9607(a)(3). We hold that because CERCLA liability is triggered by an actual or threatened release of hazardous substances, and because a release of hazardous substances took place within the United States, this…