Two cases alleging recontamination of the infamous Love Canal site in Niagara Falls have been kicked back to state court by Western District Judge John Curtin (See Profile), who said the claims did not arise under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and do not belong in federal court. But the judge declined to award attorney fees.
Curtin issued two decisions Thursday in an ongoing dispute involving a neighborhood in Niagara Falls built on the site of a toxic waste dump. Although the neighborhood was evacuated and cleaned in the 1970s, residents claim the remediation effort was not entirely successful and allege a 2011 excavation of an old sewer pipe resulted in a new discharge of hazardous chemicals. The defendants, including the City of Niagara Falls, removed the cases to federal court, arguing they were rooted in CERCLA, over which the federal courts have exclusive original jurisdiction.
