The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit has denied a request to grant a rehearing en bane of a March 20 decision that dismissed "arranger" liability for an electric utility that sold used transformers containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The 4th Circuit April 17 rejected the request by Consolidation Coal Company and PCS Phosphate Company, two companies seeking to recoup cleanup costs at a North Carolina Superfund site. They argued that the court's narrow view of "intent to dispose" under arranger liability will defeat the Superfund law's goal of having polluters pay. "[T]he majority's narrow interpretation will have devastating consequences for [the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Act (CERCLA)] and the environment generally," petitioners Consolidation Coal Company and PCS Phosphate Company argued in their April 3 petition to the 4th Circuit to rehear en banc a 2-1 split decision in the closely watched case Consolidation Coal Co. v. Georgia Power Co.
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