B & B Tritech, Inc. v. United States Environmental Protection Agency

957 F.2d 882 (1992)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

B & B Tritech, Inc. v. United States Environmental Protection Agency

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
957 F.2d 882 (1992)

Facts

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) set out procedures for identifying and remediating hazardous-waste sites. Under CERCLA, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (defendant) had to prepare and update a National Priorities List of sites based on the Hazard Ranking System, a mathematical formula. In 1986 Congress amended CERCLA in the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) to revise the Hazard Ranking System to more accurately assess the risks posed by a site. In 1988 the EPA proposed adding B & B Tritech, Inc. (B & B) (plaintiff) to the National Priorities List based on a score determined under the original Hazard Ranking System formula rather than the new SARA model, which went into effect in 1991. A contamination plume was found in an aquifer underneath the site. The original Hazard Ranking System factored within its targets component the distance to the nearest well and the population served, but it excluded those who do not use water from the aquifer. B & B protested the finding that public wellfields near the site served 750,000 customers, because the regional water authority no longer used the fields as a source and only pumped the water as needed to maintain the equipment. B & B also protested the listing because water authority drew water from deep within the aquifer and the contamination was mostly limited to the shallow layer. The EPA responded that there were trace amounts of contamination in the deep layer that entered distribution from the limited pumping. The EPA retained the score and listed the site in 1990. B & B sought review of the listing.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership