Contractor Recovery for Current Environmental Cleanup Costs under World War 2 - Era Government Contract Indentification Clauses

The thesis discusses the bases for liability for environmental damage, reviewing sources of liability under both Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and environmental tort law. It also examines the theory under CERCLA which has been successfully used in one case to hold the United States liable under World War 2-era military procurement contracts. In that case the government was determined to be a responsible party as an 'owner, operator, or arranger' under CERCLA. The purpose of this discussion is to show, by way of contrast, how the theory differs from the theory of identification which is set forth. To illustrate the environmental liability issues, the thesis presents two actual cases involving CERCLA sites formerly used to perform World War 2-era contracts and currently being cleaned up under CERCLA. In addition, the potential barriers against recovery are described. The key barriers include the Anti-Deficiency Act, the problems with reimbursement of costs under the contract, and the issue of finality and release upon contract settlement. The thesis concludes with an overall assessment of the theory and its potential as a successful method of shifting liability for current environmental cleanup costs.Air Force Inst of Tech Wright-Patterson AFB OH is the author of 'Contractor Recovery for Current Environmental Cleanup Costs under World War 2 - Era Government Contract Indentification Clauses', published 1997 under ISBN 9781423584612 and ISBN 1423584619.