Opinion ID: 3035706
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Public Participation Requirement

Text: The public participation requirement has two main components. First, in developing a remedial action plan, prior to actual field work beginning, the party conducting the cleanup “shall . . . to the extent practicable” interview local officials, community residents, or other interested or affected parties to learn their concerns. 40 C.F.R. § 300.430(c)(2)(i). Additionally, a formal community relations plan must be prepared to ensure an opportunity for public involvement, and at least one local “information repository” must be established to make information available to the public about the site remediation. 40 C.F.R. § 300.430(c)(2)(ii). Second, after a remediation plan has been chosen, the party conducting the cleanup shall publish notice of the plan in a local newspaper, provide an opportunity for submission of comments on the proposed plan, provide an opportunity for a public meeting, make a transcript of the meeting available to the public, and prepare 518 CARSON HARBOR VILLAGE v. UNOCAL CORP. a written summary of significant comments and responses to those comments. 40 C.F.R. § 300.430(f)(3). [3] Carson Harbor did not itself comply with the public participation requirement of the National Contingency Plan during its remedial action.5 Rather, it argues that the public participation requirement is satisfied because of the “substantial involvement” of the overseeing governmental unit, the RWQCB. Several other courts, and the district court below, have held that “participation by a public agency is sufficient to demonstrate compliance with the [National Contingency Plan] public comment requirement.” Carson Harbor II, 287 F.Supp.2d at 1162 (citing Bedford Affiliates v. Sills, 156 F.3d 416, 428 (2d Cir. 1998)); see also Norfolk S. Ry. Co. v. Gee Co., 158 F.Supp.2d 878, 883 (N.D. Ill. 2001); Am. Color & Chem. Corp. v. Tenneco Polymers, Inc., 918 F.Supp. 945, 957 (D.S.C. 1995). Our circuit has not decided if significant agency involvement can satisfy the National Contingency Plan’s public participation requirement, and we need not decide that issue of first impression to resolve this case. Even if significant agency involvement were enough to satisfy the National Contingency Plan’s public participation requirement, 5 The district court correctly noted that there is no evidence in the record that Carson Harbor prepared a community relations plan, that the public was given notice of the remedial action, that the remediation plan was published or otherwise made available to the public, that any public meeting was held, or that any other opportunity for public comment was given. There is evidence in the record that Carson Harbor notified local officials and other interested parties, including Unocal. Additionally, meetings were held with representatives from Carson Harbor, Unocal, the RWQCB, and state Senator Dills’s office to discuss the Property and remediation efforts. However, this alone does not create a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Carson Harbor substantially complied with the public participation requirement of the National Contingency Plan because there was never an opportunity for the public at large to comment on the plan. The best evidence of this is that local residents had to go to their state senator, Dills, to raise their concerns about the pollution at the Property and its remediation. CARSON HARBOR VILLAGE v. UNOCAL CORP. 519 the involvement of the RWQCB in this case is insufficient to do so. In Bedford Affiliates, the Second Circuit held that “extensive involvement of a government agency charged with the protection of the public environmental interest is an effective substitute for public comment.” 156 F.3d at 428. In that case, the agency had been “actively involved” in the cleanup for four years and had negotiated a consent order with Bedford. Id. at 428. Additionally, the agency in Bedford Affiliates was present to “investigate the implementation of the preliminary site assessment and the interim remedial measure.” Id. The agency also negotiated a second consent order with Bedford in 1995, and the cleanup was conducted “[u]nder the supervision of the [agency].” Id. at 422. Under those facts, the Second Circuit held that “[w]here a state agency responsible for overseeing remediation of hazardous wastes gives comprehensive input, and the private parties involved act pursuant to those instructions, the state participation may fulfill the public participation requirement.” Id. at 428. The facts before us in this case do not constitute active participation by the RWQCB which could fulfill the public comment requirement of the National Contingency Plan. In this case, the RWQCB was involved in a very limited fashion. It was not present when Carson Harbor did a preliminary investigation of the pollutants at the Property, as was the agency in Bedford Affiliates. Furthermore, the RWQCB was not actively involved in the remedial action at the Property. While representatives from the RWQCB did visit the Property and participate in meetings concerning the pollution at the Property, it did not take a lead role like the agency in Bedford Affiliates which negotiated two consent decrees. The RWQCB merely approved McLaren-Hart’s proposed remedial action plan, with very minor modifications. Additionally, the RWQCB did not oversee the cleanup like the agency in Bedford Affiliates did, but merely inspected the Property after cleanup was complete to verify that McLaren-Hart had complied with the 520 CARSON HARBOR VILLAGE v. UNOCAL CORP. remedial action plan. Even if we adopted the rule in Bedford Affiliates that significant government agency involvement fulfills the public participation requirement of the National Contingency Plan, the minor and ministerial involvement by the RWQCB in this case would not suffice to be an effective substitute for public participation.6