Asarco Costs of Montana Cleanup Overshot by $50M, 9th Cir. Says

Asarco LLC can’t claim $50 million in costs that may never be spent on cleaning up contamination at a Montana smelter site in its contribution claim against Atlantic Richfield, the Ninth Circuit said Monday in partially vacating a lower court’s ruling.

Asarco paid about $111.4 million for cleanup of the site in Helana, Mont., as part of a settlement with the federal government and the state. The Montana Environmental Trust Group, which was appointed custodial trustee of the site, spent half of the funds, leaving about $50 million for further remediation.

Asarco filed a Superfund contribution claim against Atlantic Richfield ...