City of Lincoln v. United States

In the early 1960s, the United States Air Force constructed and operated an intercontinental ballistic missile launch facility whose refuse was taken to a nearby landfill in the City of Lincoln. The City, alleging hazardous material within the refuse contaminates underground water today, sues for costs related to this ongoing contamination. The United States now moves to dismiss the City's Federal Tort Claims Act claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, which the City opposes. For the reasons discussed below, the court GRANTS the motion.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

Although the court finds below the dispositive issue is not intertwined with the merits, the recitation of facts here implicates substantive issues for which the court need not resolve factual disputes. See Autery v. United States , 424 F.3d 944 , 956 (9th Cir. 2005) (quoting Rosales , 824 F.2d at 803 ) (where jurisdictional issues and substantive claims "intertwined," district court should employ summary judgment standard). Accordingly, the following facts are undisputed unless otherwise noted.

*895 1. The Dump

Since 1952, the City of Lincoln has owned, operated and maintained a six-acre landfill…