Opinion ID: 2974114
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: “Consistent” with the NCP

Text: While a conclusion that response costs were not “necessary” alone defeats the Authority’s CERCLA claims, we address the issue of whether the costs were “consistent” with the NCP in the alternative. A contamination cleanup is consistent with the NCP “if, taken as a whole, it is in ‘substantial compliance’ with 40 C.F.R. § 300.700(c)(5)-(6), and results in a ‘CERCLA-quality cleanup.’” Franklin County, 240 F.3d at 543 (quoting 40 C.F.R. § 300.700(c)(3)(i)). An immaterial or insubstantial deviation, however, will not result in a cleanup that is “not consistent” with the NCP. 40 C.F.R. § 300.700(c)(4). The relevant provisions of the NCP for purposes of this appeal concern the RI/FS and selection of remedy, § 300.700(c)(5)(viii), and community relations and the opportunity for public comment, § 300.700(c)(6). Section 300.700(c)(5)(viii) states that compliance with section 300.430 is “potentially” required for a private CERCLA cause of action. Section 300.430(f)(1)(ii) states: The selection of a remedial action is a two-step process . . . . First, the lead agency [e.g., the State] . . . identifies a preferred alternative and presents it to the public in a proposed plan, for review and comment. Second, the lead agency shall review the public comments and consult with the state . . . in order to determine if No. 05-5754 Regional Airport Authority v. LFG, LLC, et al. Page 9 the alternative remains the most appropriate remedial action for the site or site problem. The lead agency . . . makes the final remedy selection decision, which shall be documented in the ROD. We believe that, under the facts of this case, compliance with section 300.430 is required, but the Authority’s response fails each provision. First, the State did not present the preferred alternative to the public in a proposed plan, because the Authority never provided the State with the proposed plan in the first place. The only opportunity for public comment on the chosen alternative occurred years after construction on the Site was completed. Second, the State had no public comments to consider. As a general proposition, recovery should not be precluded where the lead agency could not consider public comments because there simply were none to consult. It seems a different matter, however, where there are no public comments because the “proposal” was already completed by the time the public had an opportunity to comment on it. Finally, and most importantly, the State did not make the final remedy selection decision, and there was no ROD. The State could not have made the final remedy selection decision, as the Authority completed the remedy eleven months before the State even approved the RI/FS and BRA. Moreover, the unrefuted testimony from the Authority’s environmental consultant was that the Authority had made an affirmative decision not to file a ROD.6 We conclude that the Authority failed to comply with this provision of the NCP. Also, the Authority’s preparation of the RI/FS fell short of substantial compliance with section 300.430. The purpose of the RI is “to . . . develop[] and evaluat[e] effective remedial alternatives.” 40 C.F.R. § 300.430(d)(1). The purpose of the FS is “to ensure that appropriate remedial alternatives are developed and evaluated such that relevant information concerning the remedial action options can be presented to a decision-maker and an appropriate remedy selected.” 40 C.F.R. § 300.430(e)(1). Here again, neither of these purposes was fulfilled because the Authority had already implemented a remedy by the time the State approved the RI/FS. Finding this type of action to be in compliance with the NCP would reduce the NCP to a mere formality. Moreover, the meaninglessness of the Authority’s RI/FS is further demonstrated by the Authority’s approval of a “substantial departure” from the RI/FS shortly after it was submitted for approval. Third, the Authority did not provide an opportunity for public comment on the planned remediation. See 40 C.F.R. § 300.700(c)(6) (stating that “[p]rivate parties undertaking response actions should provide an opportunity for public comment concerning the selection of the response action”). Where relevant, these “community relations” provisions require, inter alia, that a party solicit concerns from the public and prepare a formal community relations plan, § 300.430(c)(2)(i)- (ii), that the party make available for public comment a report describing the preferred remedy along with alternatives, § 300.430(f)(2)-(3), and that the ROD be made available for public inspection, § 300.430(f)(6)(ii). Once again, the Authority did none of these. The Authority did not solicit concerns from the public, prepare a formal community relations plan, or make available for public comment a report describing the preferred remedy along with alternatives. However defined, any meaningful opportunity for public comment must occur before the final remedial action is chosen, let alone implemented. See Carson Harbor Vill., Ltd. v. County of Los Angeles (Carson Harbor II), 433 F.3d 1260, 1266-67 (9th Cir. 2006); Union Pac. R.R. Co. v. Reilly Indus., Inc., 215 F.3d 830, 837 (8th Cir. 2000). Thus, the public meeting held in March 1999–at least two years after the remedy was chosen and one year after it was completed–cannot satisfy the public comment requirement. See Reilly, 215 F.3d at 837 (finding non-compliance with the NCP where, at the time of one public meeting, the “remedy was–for purposes of allowing meaningful public participation and comment–a 6 The State’s approval of the Authority’s Remedial Plan in May 2002 is not an adequate substitute for the filing of a ROD, as it occurred almost four-and-a-half years after the plan was implemented. No. 05-5754 Regional Airport Authority v. LFG, LLC, et al. Page 10 foregone conclusion”); Pierson Sand & Gravel, Inc. v. Pierson Twp., No. 94-1472, 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 16088, at  (6th Cir. June 18, 1996) (unpublished opinion) (holding that a public meeting “could have provided no ‘opportunity for public comment concerning the selection of the response action’ because the plan had already been ‘selected’” (quoting 40 C.F.R. § 300.700(c)(6))). And as already noted, the EIS did not address specific remediation plans or alternatives. Therefore, the public comment on the EIS in 1990 cannot satisfy the NCP. The Authority points to public board meetings it held from 1994 until 1998 as having provided opportunities for public comment. However, the minutes from the meetings themselves show that the only items on any agenda related to 7the remediation of the Site involved approval of contractors to carry out the predetermined actions. The purpose of the NCP’s community relations requirements is not to give the public an opportunity to comment on who will conduct the remediation; it is to comment on the underlying remediation itself. Only the former occurred during the Authority’s public board8 meetings, and thus the meetings are of no consequence to the Authority’s CERCLA claim. The Authority cites the State’s “substantial involvement” in the process as a substitute for deficient public participation. The Second Circuit has 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.” Bedford Affiliates v. Sills, 156 F.3d 416, 428 (2d Cir. 1998); cf. NutraSweet Co. v. X-L Eng’g Co., 227 F.3d 776, 791 (7th Cir. 2000) (finding NCP compliance where a state agency approved plaintiff’s cleanup plan, monitored the remediation, and advised plaintiff when the remediation was complete). This Court has yet to decide whether this approach is sound, and we need not do so in this case, as the Authority cannot demonstrate compliance with the public comment requirements even under this standard. First, the State did not give “comprehensive input.” In fact, the record demonstrates that the State did little more than respond to the Authority’s filings. Second, the Authority cannot be said to have acted pursuant to the State’s instructions, because all work commenced prior to State approval. See Reilly, 215 F.3d at 837-38 (finding no Bedford Affiliates “exception” because remediation began before the state agency could make the ROD available for public inspection and copying). Third, the Authority never completed a BRA as the State required for risk-based management remedies, and explicitly rejected the State’s recommended actions as stated in the RI/FS. In short, the State’s participation in this case falls well short of the standards for vicarious public comment. The Authority’s alternative response to the district court’s finding of non-compliance with the NCP is that the NCP is a loose guideline that is satisfied if the response “results in a CERCLAquality cleanup.” 40 C.F.R.§ 300.700(c)(3)(i). The Authority concludes that, because its response (arguably) resulted in a CERCLA-quality cleanup, it satisfied the NCP. The problem with this argument is that recovery under § 107(a) requires both “substantial compliance” with the NCP and a “CERCLA-quality cleanup.” Franklin County, 240 F.3d at 543; see also NutraSweet, 227 F.3d 7 For example, at the meeting held on January 12, 1994, the board awarded a contract to remove asbestos and demolish several buildings on the Site. At a November 20, 1996 meeting, the board awarded a contract to complete the demolition and removal of all remaining above-ground structures on the Site. And at a meeting held on February 19, 1997, the board approved additional funds for the November 20, 1996 contract to cover additional anticipated expenses. 8 Similarly, we find no merit in the Authority’s claim that the public board meetings allowed for at least as much public participation as the scheme we found in compliance with the NCP in Franklin County. In that case, “[t]he media covered significant developments at the site, as well as public . . . [b]oard meetings, at which the remediation was discussed and opportunity for public comment given. A . . . director was appointed to speak to community groups, to handle all media inquiries, and to respond to public records requests.” Franklin County, 240 F.3d at 545. Quite simply, none of those facts is present here. No. 05-5754 Regional Airport Authority v. LFG, LLC, et al. Page 11 at 791; County Line Inv. Co. v. Tinney, 933 F.2d 1508, 1512 (10th Cir. 1991) (per curiam) (“Section 107 provides that a person is only liable for private party response costs to the extent that these costs were incurred ‘consistent with the national contingency plan.’ Proof of response costs incurred ‘consistent with’ the NCP is, therefore, an element of the prima facie private cost recovery action under CERCLA.” (citing 42 U.S.C. § 9607(a))). Thus, the fact that the Authority’s response may have resulted in a CERCLA-quality cleanup alone is insufficient. We recognize that “immaterial, insubstantial” deviations that do “not affect the overall quality of the cleanup” will not bar recovery. Franklin County, 240 F.3d at 545. But wholesale failure to comply with the NCP’s remedy-selection process and community relations provisions–the very heart of the NCP–cannot reasonably be characterized as “immaterial” or “insubstantial.”