Greenaction for Health & Environmental Justice v. U.S. Department of the Navy

The federal district court for the Northern District of California granted in part and denied in part the U.S. Navy and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the cleanup of the former Hunts Point Naval Shipyard Superfund site in San Francisco, including for failing to properly consider climate change. The court allowed the plaintiff to proceed with a claim challenging the adequacy of the fourth and fifth Five Year Review determinations under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act that remedial actions underway were protective of human health and the environment. The complaint’s allegations included that the fourth review did not properly account for sea level rise, Bay level rise, and groundwater rise data.

A lawsuit filed in the federal district court for the Northern District of California challenging the U.S. Navy and EPA’s actions in connection with the “fundamentally flawed cleanup” of the former Hunts Point Naval Shipyard Superfund site in San Francisco included allegations regarding failures to properly consider climate change. The complaint alleged that the Navy’s most recent Five Year Review used outdated data on sea level rise, Bay level rise, and groundwater rise. The plaintiff alleged that the risk of remedy failure was therefore “significantly higher than the unreasonably low assumptions made by the Navy.” The plaintiff alleged that the U.S. Navy and EPA had failed to comply with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, the National Contingency Plan, and the Federal Facilities Agreement for Naval Station Treasure Island – Hunters Point Annex.