Graham, Oil Companies Fight Over Landfill Cleanup– by Dennis Pfaff at Prop. 65 Clearinghouse

Excerpted from the full length article at Prop. 65 Clearinghouse:

An Orange County landfill long used for the disposal of oil drilling and other wastes-- and the site of an abandoned well blow-out earlier this year—is at the center of an unusual Proposition 65 struggle.

So far, the defendants, which include oil, chemical, and aerospace companies, have largely succeeded in fending off a lawsuit filed by the Consumer Defense Group Action, represented by Irvine attorney Anthony Graham. Orange County Superior Court Judge Stephen J. Sundvold tossed out all five causes of action in CDG’s lawsuit based on demurrers filed by the defendants...

...The plaintiff also argued that Proposition 65 regulations do not provide blanket immunity to the defendants. Instead, Graham said the regulations simply state the terms “discharge or release” do not include the “sale, exchange or other transfer” of a Proposition 65 chemical to a hazardous waste facility in a legal manner.

“Whether any defendant ever even dumped any material at the site, either legally or otherwise, at any time in the past is simply irrelevant to the current action,” the CDGA brief said. “It is defendants’ failure to prevent current and future discharges and releases at the site they ‘operate’ and control’ which comprise the violations” cited in the lawsuit. link to source.