TOUGH QUESTIONS FOR BOTH SIDES ON SUPERFUND'S CONSTITUTIONALITY

摘要

Competing lawyers representing EPA and General Electric (GE) drew tough questions from a federal judge hearing oral arguments Oct. 14 on the company's long-standing constitutional challenge to the federal Superfund law, although the judge gave no indication of whether the plaintiffs or defendants had made a prevailing case. Judge John D. Bates of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia presided over General Electric Co. v. EPA et ah, which charges that EPA has established a pattern and practice of implementing its Unilateral Administrative Orders (UAOs) that violates GE's constitutional right of due process. EPA counters that its practices are entirely within the statute of the the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Act (CERCLA) and that potentially responsible parties (PRPs) have the right not to comply with a UAO, which ensures them a chance to have their grievances heard in court.