US v. Nepacco

This case was one of the first cases in which the government used the recently passed CERCLA for legal basis of the charges. CERCLA was signed into law on December 11, 1980 by President Jimmy Carter (Chapman, 189). NEPACCO during the years of 1970 until 1972 had produced hexachlorophene at its Verona, Missouri plant. The defendants Edwin Michaels, president of NEPACCO and John W. Lee was the Vice President, also Ronald Mills was the shift supervisor at the plant. The processing of hexachlorophene also produced toxic by products such as toluene and dioxin. In July of 1971, Mills with assistance had taken 85 barrels of toxic waste and buried them in a trench located at the Denny Farm site (ELR, Sec. 2).

In 1979 the Environmental Protection Agency

The opinion of the court established the first precedents of CERCLA. First showing that the cleaning expenditures pre-CERCLA were in fact covered legally and also the act of dumping itself was covered under CERCLA even though it had taken place before CERCLA was enacted. The second precedent that was established was the personal liability of the owners and operators of facility in cleaning up hazardous waste sites. The government could now use chapter 107 of CERCLA to charge individuals liable for the hazardous waste because of personal involvement with the transport of hazardous wastes. This now allowed for the government or other private groups to seek reimbursement by suing for the expenditures of cleaning of hazardous wastes.

an investigation which revealed the high concentrations of Dioxin had leaked from the severely deteriorated barrels (Plater, 267). The site was then closed and the drums were

(EPA) had receive an anonymous tip that toxic waste was buried at Denny Farm. In April of 1980 the EPA had undergone

apply to the defendants under CERCLA Chapter 107 which states that anyone who arranged for transport or who owned and operated the facility at the time of the disposal.

much attention and brought light onto a subject of hazardous waste clean up and responsibility. The new fundamental point of CERCLA is who pays for it? The liability

The pinnacle of the NEPACCO defense was the legality of the charges pursuant to CERCLA of 1980. Since the dumping was prior to CERCLA being passed, the court had to decide whether the CERCLA could be applied to pre-1980 acts

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