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Ward v. Town of Summer Hill

County Dismissed From Contamination Action; CERCLA Case Not Made Out

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MEMORANDUM-DECISION AND ORDERI. Introduction Plaintiff Matthew Ward, individually and on behalf of other similarly situated parties, commenced this putative class action against defendants Town of Summer Hill (hereinafter “the Town”) and Cayuga County (hereinafter “the County”), bringing claims under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA),1 the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA),2 and New York common law. (Compl., Dkt. No. 1 at 1,

42-81.) Ward’s allegations concern groundwater and property contamination from the Summer Hill Landfill (hereinafter “the Landfill”). (Id. 2.) Pending is the County’s motion to dismiss, (Dkt. No. 12), which is granted, as discussed below.II. BackgroundA. Facts3Ward is the owner and resident of real property at 6053 Filmore Road in Sempronius, New York, (Compl. 12), and the Landfill is located on approximately twenty-three acres of land in or near Summer Hill, New York, (id. 19).4 Ward’s groundwater and property are contaminated with hazardous substances from the Landfill, including but not limited to arsenic, benzene, chromium, lead, and napthalene. (Id. 2.) These contaminants were discovered in soil and water samples. (Id. 3.)Ward alleges the following. The Town and the County “have owned, operated, maintained[,] and otherwise controlled the Landfill for approximately twenty (20) years.” (Id. 31.) Landfill operations “are reported to have begun in approximately 1963 and are reported to have ended in approximately 1982.” (Id. 22.) A portion of the Landfill was originally operated as a municipal solid waste landfill or a sanitary waste landfill. (Id. 23.) Other portions received other forms of waste, both hazardous and non-hazardous, including household, commercial, generator, and industrial solid wastes. (Id. 24.) Landfill waste remains visible, exposed, and disturbed; outbreaks of “water that has percolated through waste solids and extracted soluble and insoluble matter from such waste[] have been observed.” (Id.

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