United States v. Shell Oil Co.

*815 OPINION

We are asked to decide who must pay for cleaning up the McColl Superfund Site in Fullerton, California. The site was contaminated with hazardous wastes associated with the production of aviation fuel during World War II. Defendants in this case, Shell Oil Co., Union Oil Co. of California, Atlantic Richfield Co., and Texaco, Inc. 1 (collectively, “the Oil Companies”), operated aviation fuel refineries in the Los Angeles area during the war and dumped their wastes at the McColl site.

The United States and the State of California brought suit against the Oil Companies under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 9601-9675 , to recover cleanup costs incurred at the site. The Oil Companies counterclaimed under the same statute, contending that the United States was liable for cleanup costs.

On motion for summary judgment by the United States and the State of California, the district court held that the Oil Companies were liable as “arrangers” under 42 U.S.C. § 9607 (a)(3). See United States v. Shell Oil Co. (Shell I), 841 F.Supp. 962, 969-70 (C.D.Cal.1993). The district court rejected the Oil Companies’…