Land O’Lakes, Inc. (Hudson Oil Refinery Superfund Site) (Board decision, November 4, 2021)

Plain-English summary

Land O’Lakes sought reimbursement under CERCLA section 106(b)(2) for the Hudson Oil Refinery Superfund Site. The petition had been stayed while a related cost-recovery case proceeded in federal court. After the parties reported a settlement in that case and a federal court entered a consent decree, Land O’Lakes asked the EAB to dismiss its petition with prejudice. The Board granted the request and dismissed the petition without deciding the underlying reimbursement claims.

Decision snapshot

• Cited authorities: CERCLA section 106(b)(2), 42 U.S.C. § 9606(b)(2)
• Outcome: Petition for reimbursement dismissed with prejudice.
• Key point: A petitioner may withdraw a stayed CERCLA reimbursement petition after related federal litigation is resolved, resulting in a final dismissal without a merits decision.

Full text (EPA EAB public release)

F I L E D
Nov 04, 2021
Clerk, Environmental Appeals Board
INITIALS ______

ENVIRONMENTAL APPEALS BOARD
UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C.

In re:
Land O’Lakes, Inc. (Hudson Oil Refinery
Superfund Site)
Docket No. 06-16-08

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CERCLA § 106(b) Petition No. 15-01

ORDER DISMISSING PETITION WITH PREJUDICE
On November 2, 2021, Petitioner Land O’Lakes, Inc., submitted a request to dismiss with prejudice their petition for reimbursement filed under section 106(b)(2) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”), 42 U.S.C. § 9606(b)(2), in the above-captioned matter.1 Their petition has been pending and stayed before the Environmental Appeals Board (“Board”) while litigation in a cost recovery case on overlapping liability issues has proceeded in federal court. In August 2021 the parties informed the Board that a definitive settlement had been reached in the cost recovery case, and now Petitioner represents that on October 29, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma in United States v. Land O’Lakes, Inc., and Cushing, Oklahoma Brownfields, LLC, Case No. 5:16-cv-00170, entered a consent decree resolving the claims in the petition.

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While Land O’Lakes, Inc. labeled its filing “Dismissal with Prejudice,” the Environmental Appeals Board will treat the filing as a motion to withdraw and request for dismissal consistent with the Board’s CERCLA Standing Order. See Order on Procedures for Petitions for Reimbursement Submitted Under Section 106(b)(2)(A) of the CERCLA of 1980, 42 U.S.C. § 9606(b)(2)(A), app. A (EAB July 7, 2020).

Having considered Petitioner’s submittal and the representations therein, the Board GRANTS the request and DISMISSES WITH PREJUDICE their petition for reimbursement.

So ordered.2
ENVIRONMENTAL APPEALS BOARD

Nov 04, 2021
Dated: ________

By: ________
Mary Kay Lynch
Environmental Appeals Judge

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The panel deciding this matter is composed of Environmental Appeals Judges Mary Kay Lynch and Kathie A. Stein.
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I certify that copies of the foregoing Order Dismissing Petition with Prejudice in the matter of Land O’Lakes Inc. (Hudson Oil Refinery Superfund Site), CERCLA § 106(b) Petition No. 15-01, were sent to the following persons in the manner indicated. By Email: Attorneys for Petitioner Stephen L. Jantzen, Esq. Mark D. Coldiron, Esq. Ryan Whaley Coldiron Jantzen Peters & Webber PLLC 400 N. Walnut Avenue Oklahoma City, OK 73104 Telephone: (405) 239-6040 Telefax: (405) 239-6766 [email protected] [email protected] Byron E. Starns, Esq. Stinson LLP 50 South Sixth Street, Suite 2600 Minneapolis, MN 55402 Telephone: (612) 335-1516 Telefax: (612) 335-1657 [email protected]

Attorneys for EPA
George Malone, III
Sr. Asst. Regional Counsel
U.S. EPA, Region 6 (6RC-S)
1201 Elm Street, Suite 500
Dallas, TX 75270-2102
[email protected]
Clarence Featherson Office of
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
U.S. EPA (2272A)
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington,
DC 20460
[email protected]
Lorie Schmidt
Associate General Counsel
Office of General Counsel
U.S. EPA
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20460
[email protected]

Nov 04, 2021
Dated: ________
Emilio Cortes
Clerk of the Board

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