United States v. Tarkowski

No. 99 C 7308 (N.D. Ill. May 30, 2000)

ELR Digest

The court denies the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) motion seeking an order under Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act § 104(e) requiring a landowner to allow EPA to access his property to test water on the property in order to determine if it has been contaminated by an alleged release of hazardous substances. The court previously denied an EPA motion for access to implement response actions addressing the alleged release because the landowner demonstrated that EPA failed to follow its own established methods for determining when a response action was necessary. The court holds that it must deny EPA's motion. EPA's evidence does not establish that the landowner refused access to his property for the purpose now requested by the government of testing for contaminated water. Moreover, EPA's request for access goes vastly beyond what would be called for by the court's findings in the previous proceeding concerning the nature of the releases or threatened releases that EPA has a reasonable basis to believe have occurred or may occur on the landowner's property.

The full text of this opinion is available from ELR (4 pp., ELR Order No. L-231).

Counsel for Plaintiff
Mark Ter Molen
Mayer, Brown & Plan
190 S. La Salle St., Chicago IL 60603
(312) 782-0600

Counsel for Defendant
Kurt N. Lindland, Ass't U.S. Attorney
U.S. Attorney's Office
Everett M. Dirksen Bldg.
219 S. Dearborn St., 5th FL, Chicago IL 60604
(312) 353-5300

[30 ELR 20622]

[OPINION OMITTED BY PUBLISHER IN ORIGINAL SOURCE]