Tribe Sees $653 Million CERCLA Cultural Damages Claims Tossed

An American Indian tribe’s proposed cultural losses of about $653 million from a smeltering facility’s contamination of a river aren’t recoverable under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, a federal judge said.

The US District Court for the Eastern District of Washington granted Teck Cominco Metals Ltd. partial summary judgment after finding there were no disputes of material fact regarding the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation’s proposed three “tribal service loss” damage measurements. Teck argued the tribe’s proposed cultural damages claims failed as a matter of law and weren’t recoverable under CERCLA.

Despite the “serious” impacts of ...