United States v. Bos. & Me. Corp.

摘要

Federal government does not have to produce certain communications concerning its characterization of removal actions on two contaminated properties in Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act lawsuit brought against railroad company, because: (1) under Section 113(j) of CERCLA, judicial review of adequacy of removal actions is limited to administrative record; (2) internal communications regarding government's actions relate more to deliberative process that led to selection and adequacy of response than to characterization of response; and (3) subjective intentions of government personnel and contractors do not directly bear on legal characterization of actions taken by government.