Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/19pdf/17-1498_8mjp.pdf
Page Number: 36

Cite as:  590 U. S. ____ (2020) 

1 

Opinion of GORSUCH, J. 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

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No. 17–1498 
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ATLANTIC RICHFIELD COMPANY, PETITIONER v. 
GREGORY A. CHRISTIAN, ET AL. 

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE SUPREME 
COURT OF MONTANA 

[April 20, 2020] 

JUSTICE  GORSUCH,  with  whom  JUSTICE  THOMAS  joins,

concurring in part and dissenting in part. 

For nearly a century, Atlantic Richfield’s predecessor op-
erated  a  smelter  near  the  town  of  Opportunity,  Montana.
At one time, the smelter produced much of the Nation’s cop-
per supply and served as the State’s largest employer.  App.
311.  Eventually, though, it became apparent the smelter 
was  producing  more  than  just  copper  and  jobs.  Studies 
showed that the plant emitted up to 62 tons of arsenic and 
10 tons of lead each day.  Brief for Respondents 7.  Thanks 
to what was once the world’s tallest brick smokestack, these 
heavy metals blanketed the town and the whole of the Deer 
Lodge  Valley—contaminating  hundreds  of  square  miles. 
Today, the smokestack is all that is left of the once massive 
operation.  It stands alone in a state park, much of which
remains dangerously contaminated and closed to the pub-
lic.  Visitors may view the stack, but only from a distance, 
through fences and between huge slag piles.  Id., at 9. 

This  case  involves  nearly  100  nearby  residents.  Some 
have lived in their homes for decades, some long before the 
environmental consequences of the smelter were fully ap-
preciated.  They say they have thought about moving, but 
for many their property values aren’t what they once were.
Besides, as one homeowner put it, “I couldn’t find a kitchen
door that’s got all my kids’ heights on it.”  Id., at 8.