United States v. Olin Corp.

Olin Corporation's (plaintiff) Alabama property contained a contaminated on-site parcel (OU-1) from its chemical manufacturing; the EPA sued to compel cleanup under CERCLA, and although the parties agreed to a consent order with Olin paying all cleanup costs, the district court required the parties to address whether United States v. Lopez affected CERCLA's constitutionality as applied to conduct predating the statute. The district court agreed with Olin's argument that CERCLA's application here exceeded Commerce Clause authority and dismissed the suit; the EPA appealed.