Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/19pdf/17-1498_8mjp.pdf
Page Number: 1

(Slip Opinion) 

OCTOBER  TERM,  2019 

1 

Syllabus 

NOTE:  Where  it  is  feasible,  a  syllabus  (headnote)  will  be  released,  as  is 
being  done  in  connection  with  this  case,  at  the  time  the  opinion  is  issued. 
The  syllabus  constitutes  no  part  of  the  opinion  of  the  Court  but  has  been 
prepared  by  the  Reporter  of  Decisions  for  the  convenience  of  the  reader. 
See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337. 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

Syllabus 

ATLANTIC RICHFIELD CO. v. CHRISTIAN ET AL. 

CERTIORARI TO THE SUPREME COURT OF MONTANA 

No. 17–1498.  Argued December 3, 2019—Decided April 20, 2020 

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Lia-
bility Act, 42 U. S. C. §9601 et seq., also known as the Superfund stat-
ute,  promotes  “the  timely  cleanup  of  hazardous  waste  sites  and  [en-
sures]  that  the  costs  of  such  cleanup  efforts  [are]  borne  by  those 
responsible  for  the  contamination,”  CTS  Corp.  v.  Waldburger,  573 
U. S. 1, 4 (internal quotation marks omitted).  The Act directs the En-
vironmental Protection Agency to compile and annually revise a prior-
itized list of contaminated sites for cleanup, known as Superfund sites, 
and makes responsible parties liable for the cost of the cleanup.  Before 
a  cleanup  plan  is  selected,  a  remedial  investigation  and  feasibility
study is conducted to assess the contamination and evaluate cleanup 
options.    Once  that  study  begins,  §122(e)(6)  of  the  Act  provides,  “no 
potentially responsible party may undertake any remedial action” at 
the site without EPA approval.  To insulate cleanup plans from collat-
eral  attack,  §113(b)  provides  federal  district  courts  with  “exclusive 
original jurisdiction over all controversies arising under” the Act, and
§113(h)  then  strips  those  courts  of  jurisdiction  “to  review  any  chal-
lenges  to  removal  or  remedial  action,”  except  in  five  limited  circum-
stances.

For nearly a century, the Anaconda Copper Smelter in Butte, Mon-
tana contaminated an area of over 300 square miles with arsenic and 
lead.  Over the past 35 years, EPA has worked with the current owner 
of the now-closed smelter, Atlantic Richfield Company, to implement 
a cleanup plan for a remediation expected to continue through 2025.
A  group  of  98  landowners  sued  Atlantic  Richfield  in  Montana  state
court for common law nuisance, trespass, and strict liability, seeking 
restoration damages, which Montana law requires to be spent on prop-
erty  rehabilitation.    The  landowners’  proposed  plan  exceeds  the