Don A. Cose and Darlene A. Cose v. Getty Oil Company, a Delaware Corporation, and Texaco, Inc., a Delaware Corporation Four Star Oil and Gas Company

Don A. Cose and Darlene A. Cose (“the Coses”) appeal the district court’s grant of summary judgment dismissing them Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”), 42 U.S.C. § 9601 et seq., action against the Getty Oil Company (“Getty Oil”), et al. The CERCLA action sought recovery for response costs needed to clean subsurface crude oil tank bottom waste discovered on property purchased from Getty Oil. The tank bottom waste contains substances deemed hazardous under CERCLA. The district court based its dismissal on its conclusion that crude oil tank bottoms fall within CERCLA’s petroleum exclusion. We disagree and therefore reverse.

BACKGROUND

Getty Oil produced crude oil from wells in the Tafts-Fellow area of Kern County, California. The oil was transported by Getty to its Avon refinery in Martinez, California via a pipeline route and pumping stations located at twelve-mile intervals. The crude oil was stored at the pumping stations in tanks and heated to reduce its viscosity. The oil was then pumped farther along the pipeline.

When crude oil is stored in tanks, suspended sedimentary solids in the crude oil settle to the bottom. Because water…