Federal Court Orders More Briefing on Ownership Liability in CERCLA Suit Involving Navajo Reservation Uranium Mining

Here are the materials in El Paso Natural Gas Co. LLC v. United States (D. Ariz.):

114 Plaintiff Motion for Summary J

119 US Response

123 Reply

128 DCT Order

An excerpt:

Plaintiff El Paso Natural Gas Company brought suit under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) against Defendants United States of America, United States Department of the Interior, United States Bureau of Indian Affairs, United States Geological Survey, United States Department of Energy, and United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (collectively, “United States”). Doc. 55. Plaintiff has filed a motion for partial summary judgment. Doc. 114. The motion is fully briefed (Docs. 114, 119, 123), and the Court heard oral argument on June 1, 2017. For reasons that follow, the Court rejects the United States’ sovereign immunity defense and will require additional briefing on the question of its CERCLA owner liability.