United States v. El Dorado County

facts relevant to our determination.

The United States Forest Service (Forest Service) gave the County a permit to operate a landfill on Forest Service land from 1955 through 1971, after which the landfill was closed. In 1996, toxic chemicals were discovered in the groundwater near the landfill. After several rounds of investigation, planning, and negotiation, the Forest Service and the County entered into a consent decree under which the County would be obligated to implement a remedial plan developed by the Forest Service. Soon after beginning implementation, the County discovered alleged defects in the plan and moved to modify the consent decree. UNITED STATES V . EL DORADO COUNTY

The district court held that (1) the plan contained significant errors; (2) as a result, the implementation costs would be substantially increased; and (3) the government must pay those costs. The district court therefore “suspended” the consent decree “pending further order” and directed that an evidentiary hearing would be held to determine the extent of the government’s liability for the increased costs.

II.

The government argues that we have jurisdiction because (1) the order is a…