Daniel Starrett Frances Starrett v. United States of America Department of the Navy

Daniel and Frances Starrett (“Starretts”) appeal summary judgment dismissing their action filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The Starretts claim the district court erred in ruling the “discretionary function” exception to the FTCA, 28 U.S.C. § 2680 (a), barred their claim that operations at the Navy Trident Submarine Base at Bangor, Washington, contaminated their well water. We reverse.

BACKGROUND

The Starretts own and reside on property adjacent to the United States Naval Submarine Base at Bangor, Washington. They allege that their domestic water well was contaminated by chemicals from the Navy Base produced during the demilitarization (“demilling”) of missiles in an area of the base known as “Site F”. These chemicals leached into the ground water and subsequently entered the Starretts’ well.

Demilling is a process to remove explosives from missiles. The actual process used until 1972 involved drilling holes in the rocket heads, passing steam through the heads to liquify the explosives, and separating the liquified explosive from the water. The waste water was strained through cheesecloth, then piped into a sump and finally…