Opinion ID: 2788105
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Ward Site

Text: Ward operated a business in which it purchased used, obsolete, or damaged electrical transformers and reconditioned or repaired them for resale. These types of transformers “step down” the voltage of electricity as it moves from power plants to end users. The particular type of electrical transformer at issue here typically contains an enclosed, vacuum-sealed external tank, an internal iron core, and coils consisting of copper or aluminum windings wrapped in cellulose insulation that tightly surround the core. These internal parts must be 1 Though PCBs have been banned since 1979, the EPA continues to employ CERCLA in an effort to clean PCB-contaminated sites. See, e.g., NCR Corp. v. George A. Whiting Paper Co., 768 F.3d 682, 688-89 (7th Cir. 2014); Fla. Power & Light Co. v. Allis Chalmers Corp., 893 F.2d 1313, 1315 (11th Cir. 1990). 18 immersed in oil to work properly, and often the insulating oil contained PCBs. Ward left some of the transformers it purchased on an outside lot. When Ward received an order, it would then select a transformer from the lot and recondition or rebuild it to the customer’s specifications. This process ranged from cleaning, testing and painting a transformer, to rebuilding it entirely by draining any remaining oil and removing the inner components by crane to perform work on the core and coils. Given the sometimes significant work Ward performed on transformers, some oil spills occurred at the Ward Site. 2 Because of PCB contamination, the EPA added the Ward Site to its National Priorities List. In 2004 the EPA formally initiated a time-critical removal action, during which workers have removed over 400,000 tons of contaminated soil. 2 Georgia Power disputes that contamination occurred after 1979, during the years at issue here. Ward witnesses testified that they believed contamination occurred before the early 1980s because, in approximately 1978, Ward implemented strict policies and procedures regarding handling of transformers and transformer oil. The district court, however, made no factual finding on this issue. Taking the evidence in the light most favorable to Consol and PCS, we assume that some contamination continued at the Ward Site through the period at issue in this case. 19