Opinion ID: 709549
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: CERCLA's Statutory Structure

Text: 45
46 Plaintiffs argue that the structure of two CERCLA subsections proves that Congress did not believe ATSDR health assessment and surveillance activities were response authorities or removal actions. The HDC argues that Sec. 9607(a)(4)(A), which provides for the recovery of all costs of removal or remedial action incurred by the United States Government, is separate from Sec. 9607(a)(4)(D), which provides for the recovery of the costs of any health assessment or health effects study carried out by the ATSDR. As a result, they argue that Congress must have generally intended to distinguish ATSDR activities from removal or remedial action. We disagree with the HDC's conclusion. 47 It bears noting that the ATSDR provision in Sec. 9607(a)(4)(D) was added to CERCLA's original Sec. 9607(a)(4) (which included Sec. 9607(a)(4)(A)) as part of the 1986 Superfund Amendments. Thus, we decline to read the failure of Congress to accomplish the seamless integration of ATSDR provisions with the other response authorities found under sub-section 9607(a)(4) as compelling proof of Congress' intent to distinguish ATSDR activities from removal and remedial actions. See Clark v. Uebersee Finanz-Korporation, 332 U.S. 480, 488, 68 S.Ct. 174, 177, 92 L.Ed. 88 (1947) (noting that court should not adopt an interpretation of statutory language that would run counter to the policy of the Act and be disruptive of its purpose ... [when] dealing with hasty legislation that Congress did not stop to perfect as an integrated whole.); Callejas v. McMahon, 750 F.2d 729, 731 (9th Cir.1985) (noting that when considering an Act that has been amended [i]t is the duty of a court to consider the time and circumstances surrounding the enactment); see also Rodgers, Sec. 8.2, at 485 (noting that one consequence of the conglomerate origins and features of SARA is a loss of coherence, because the law was not designed by a single intelligence or the meeting of a few minds). Nevertheless, there is at least a question raised as to what Congress intended when it added an autonomous ATSDR cost-recovery provision to sub-section 9607(a)(4). Since the statutory structure gives rise to ambiguity, we consult the legislative history, to the extent that it is of value, to aid in our interpretation. Straub v. A P Green, Inc., 38 F.3d 448, 452 (9th Cir.1994). 48 An examination of the legislative history reveals a clear congressional intent to identify at least some costs related to ATSDR health activities as response costs. The separate House and Senate versions of the SARA Amendments each provided that [i]n any case in which a health assessment ... discloses the exposure of a population to the release of a hazardous substance or pollutant or contaminant from a facility, the costs of such health assessment may be recovered as a cost of response under section [9607] of [CERCLA]. H.R. 2817, 99th Cong., 2d Sess. Sec. 116(f)(10) (1986); S. 51, 99th Cong., 2d Sess. Sec. 116(i)(3)(G) (1986) (Senate version); see also Joint Explanatory Statement of the Committee of Conference, reprinted in 1986 U.S.C.C.A.N. 3276, at 3302, 3304 (noting that both House and Senate bills provide that the costs of performing a health assessment may be recovered as a cost of response under the authority of section [9607] of this Act, where the assessment discloses exposure of a population to a release of a hazardous substance from a facility). Congress intended the final version of the Amendments to codify the House and Senate cost-recovery provisions: 49 The conference substitute [for the House and Senate ATSDR cost-recovery provisions] deletes the authority for recovery of costs associated with the performance of health assessments in both the House and Senate amendments, since that authority is covered in the conference substitute's amendments to section [9607] of the current law. 50 Joint Explanatory Statement of the Committee of Conference, reprinted in 1986 U.S.C.C.A.N. at 3306 (emphasis added). Thus, rather than establishing that Congress meant to distinguish ATSDR activities from response actions by amending CERCLA to include a separate ATSDR cost-recovery provision, the legislative history demonstrates that the House and the Senate agreed that at least some ATSDR health assessment activities were, in fact, response actions. The statutory structure of Sec. 9607(a)(4)(A) and (D) does not evince Congress' intent to exclude the ATSDR's Sec. 9604 health related authorities from CERCLA's definition of response action. 51
52 HDC asserts that the structure of Sec. 9611(a) and (c) provides another indication that Congress did not intend ATSDR activities to be classified as removal or remedial actions. In those subsections, Congress again separately addressed governmental response costs and ATSDR-related costs. Compare 42 U.S.C. Sec. 9611(a)(1) (addressing governmental response costs) with 42 U.S.C. Sec. 9611(c) (addressing ATSDR costs). Congress did not indicate in the legislative history what, if anything, it intended to convey by amending Sec. 9611 to include a separate ATSDR provision. Thus, given the statute's structural ambiguity and the absence of congressional guidance regarding the proper interpretation of Sec. 9611 as it relates to the classification of ATSDR activities as response actions, this court must choose the interpretation that is most consistent with the remainder of the Act. See Brooks v. Donovan, 699 F.2d 1010, 1011 (9th Cir.1983) (noting that court must confirm that its interpretation does not  'thwart the purpose of the overall statutory scheme or lead to an absurd result.' ) (citations omitted); see also Wilshire Westwood Assoc., 881 F.2d at 804 (applying Brooks in CERCLA context). We hold, notwithstanding the structural ambiguities highlighted by plaintiffs, classifying ATSDR health assessment and surveillance activities at NPL sites as removal action is most consistent with the overall structure and purpose of CERCLA.3. CERCLA's Remedial Purpose 53 Concluding that the ATSDR's health assessment and surveillance activities fall within CERCLA's definition of removal activity, and thus are protected by the Timing of Review provision, is consistent with CERCLA's remedial purpose. Because  'CERCLA is essentially a remedial statute designed by Congress to protect and preserve public health and the environment[, courts] are ... obligated to construe its provisions liberally to avoid frustration of the beneficial legislative purposes....'  Wilshire Westwood Assoc., 881 F.2d at 804 (quoting Dedham Water Co., 805 F.2d at 1081); see also 3550 Stevens Creek Assoc. v. Barclays Bank, 915 F.2d 1355, 1363 (9th Cir.1990) (We agree that [CERCLA] is to be given a broad interpretation to accomplish its remedial goals.), cert. denied, 500 U.S. 917, 111 S.Ct. 2014, 114 L.Ed.2d 101 (1991). We are convinced that classifying ATSDR's activities as removal or remedial activity is consistent with CERCLA's purposes for three reasons. 54 First, this circuit has joined others in recognizing that protection of the public health was one of the remedial goals of CERCLA. See Wilshire Westwood Assoc., 881 F.2d at 804; Dedham Water Co., 805 F.2d at 1081. More specifically, as we noted above, the health related authorities assigned to the ATSDR in 1986 were meant to redress perceived weaknesses in CERCLA's public health provisions. Given that Congress strengthened the ATSDR in hopes of better achieving CERCLA's remedial goal of protecting the public health, it follows that we must construe provisions relating to the ATSDR in a manner that is most likely to facilitate the effective performance of its statutory responsibilities. We believe that the ATSDR can most effectively protect the public health if the Agency receives the same protection from legal attack that is already extended to other CERCLA removal and remedial activity pursuant to CERCLA's Timing of Review provision. 55 Second, as we noted above, CERCLA affords a privileged position to governmental cleanup efforts as opposed to the efforts of private parties. Indeed, even the cost-recovery provisions relied upon by plaintiffs generally privilege government efforts to recover response costs over similar claims pressed by private parties. See, e.g., Washington State Dep't of Transp. v. Washington Natural Gas, 51 F.3d 1489, 1495-96 (9th Cir.1995) (noting that Sec. 9611(a) distinguishes the government's response cost recovery actions from similar actions brought by private parties and reviewing the more deferential legal standard applied to the government); see also Rodgers, Sec. 8.14, at 702 (In ... noticeable particulars, the government has an easier time than private parties in pursuit of response costs.). Moreover, as we noted in our discussion of Durfey and Price, Congress specifically chose to increase the authority of the ATSDR while intentionally omitting any provisions that would link the administration of CERCLA to private medical monitoring efforts. In short, we are convinced that granting jurisdictional protection to ATSDR activities is most consistent with Congress' intent to give government cleanup efforts wide latitude. 56 Most importantly, recognizing that the ATSDR actions at Hanford constitute removal or remedial action is most consistent with the role Congress intended the ATSDR to play within CERCLA. ATSDR health assessment and surveillance provisions were added to CERCLA due to congressional concern that government response efforts had not given enough attention to the effects hazardous materials were having on human health. See Ambrogi, 750 F.Supp. at 1249. To address this concern, the ATSDR was assigned a role to play at every NPL site, see 42 U.S.C. Sec. 9604(i)(6)(A), and is expected to continually evaluate the appropriate responses to health-related problems the Agency identifies at each site. See 42 U.S.C. Sec. 9604(i)(6)(G) (The purpose of health assessments ... shall be to assist in determining whether actions ... should be taken to reduce human exposure to hazardous substances from a facility and whether additional information on human exposure and associated health risks is needed.). The ATSDR is required to assist the EPA, Department of Energy, the Centers for Disease Control, and other federal, state, and local authorities with the implementation of health related provisions of CERCLA, see 42 U.S.C. Sec. 9604(i)(1). This requirement is reinforced at Hanford by the inclusion of ATSDR in the FFA, the blueprint for Hanford's interagency cleanup effort. See Heart of America Northwest v. Westinghouse Hanford, 820 F.Supp. 1265, 1283 (E.D.Wash.1993) ([T]he [Hanford] FFA is an integrated CERCLA response plan and that the activities undertaken pursuant to the FFA are remedial actions selected under CERCLA section 104 and 120.). The ATSDR also must coordinate its activities with the President's response authorities in the event immediate threats to public health are identified. See 42 U.S.C. Sec. 9604(i)(11). We hold that the clear and extensive congressional efforts to integrate ATSDR health assessment and surveillance action into NPL cleanups support the conclusion that the activities at issue in this case fall within the scope of Sec. 9613(h)'s jurisdictional proscription. 57 Because the ATSDR's health assessment and surveillance activities are removal or remedial actions under Sec. 9613(h), 15 we conclude that HDC's suit may be subject to CERCLA's Timing of Review provision. Plaintiffs argue, however, that even if the ATSDR health assessment and surveillance activity may be entitled in some instances to Sec. 9613(h) protection, several specific Sec. 9613(h) requirements have not been met in this case. HDC asserts that: (1) it is not challenging the ATSDR's health assessment and surveillance authorities, and thus Sec. 9613(h) does not apply; (2) the initiation of a health surveillance program is required at Hanford, and Sec. 9613(h) protects only discretionary action; and (3) the ATSDR has taken health assessment action, and thus its suit should be allowed to proceed under the citizen suit exception to Sec. 9613(h). We examine each of these arguments in turn. 58