107 F. Supp. 2d 817 | W.D. Mich. | 2000
OPINION
In 1995 Plaintiff Kalamazoo River Study Group (“KRSG”) filed this action against eight corporations under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (“CERCLA”), 42 U.S.C. § 9601, et seq., the Michigan Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (“NREPA”), M.C.L.A. § 324.20101 et seq. and various common law theories. Through this action Plaintiff seeks to recover its response costs from other entities that allegedly contributed to the PCB contamination of a portion of the Kalamazoo River.
Prior to trial six of the Defendants were dismissed pursuant to a voluntarily dis-
The allocation phase, involving only Plaintiff KRSG and Defendant Rockwell, was tried to the Court from November 8, 1999 to November 10, 1999 (the Phase II trial). The Court has considered opening statements of counsel, written closing arguments of counsel, proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law from both parties, the testimony of witnesses at trial, documents and photos admitted as exhibits at trial, and deposition excerpts designated by the parties in the Joint Final Pretrial Order. The Court has considered what inferences can reasonably be drawn from the direct and circumstantial evidence, and has considered the demeanor and manner of the witnesses who testified at trial in assessing the credibility of and weight to be accorded to the testimony of those witnesses. This opinion contains the Court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law, in accordance with Fed.R.CivP. 52(a).
I. The Parties
Plaintiff KRSG is an unincorporated association of four paper companies duly existing under and by virtue of the laws of the State of Michigan. Its members are Millennium Holdings, Inc. (formerly HM Holdings, Inc./Allied Paper Inc.), a Delaware corporation (“Allied”); Georgia-Pacific Corporation, a Georgia corporation (“Georgia-Pacific”); Fort James Operating Company, Inc. (formerly James River Paper Company, Inc.), a Virginia corporation (“James River”); and Plainwell Inc. (formerly Simpson-Plainwell Paper Company and Plainwell Paper Company, respectively), a Michigan corporation (“Simpson”).
Defendant Rockwell is a Delaware corporation. Meritor Automotive is the successor in interest with respect to Rockwell’s Allegan facility that is at issue in this case.
II. Administrative History of The Site
In August 1990 a thirty-five mile length of the Kalamazoo River from the confluence of Portage Creek with the river (in the City of Kalamazoo) downstream to the Allegan City Dam, and a three-mile portion of Portage Creek upstream of its confluence with the Kalamazoo River was added to the National Priorities List (“NPL”) by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) pursuant to Section 105 of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. § 9605. The NPL Site is known as the Allied Paper, Inc./Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund (National Priorities List) Site (“NPL Site”).
In 1990, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (now the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality) (“MDNR” or “MDEQ”) and the EPA signed a Cooperative Agreement authorizing the MDNR to conduct an Endangerment/Risk Assessment for the NPL Site. The MDNR determined that the NPL Site is contaminated with hazardous substances, including polychlorinated biphe-nyls (“PCBs”). PCBs are hazardous sub
The MDNR identified three paper mills — Allied, Georgia-Pacific and Simpson — as the principal sources of PCBs contaminating the NPL Site due to past business operations involving the recycling of paper, including deinking, during the period of 1950-1975.
In December 1990, following the listing of the NPL Site, three members of KRSG (Allied, Georgia-Pacific, and Simpson) entered into an Administrative Order by Consent (“AOC”) with the MDNR to fund and conduct a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (“RI/FS”) of the NPL Site. James River subsequently joined the KRSG, but did not sign the AOC. James River has nevertheless participated in the RI/FS process.
In the AOC the MDNR made a finding that the sediments, water column and biota in the Kalamazoo River/Portgage Creek Site are contaminated with PCBs. In 1990 the MDNR estimated that there are about 200,000 pounds of PCBs in the sediments in and adjacent to Portage Creek and the Kalamazoo River at this Site.
Under the RI/FS Plaintiffs members are required to extend their investigation upstream and downstream of the NPL site to include a ninety-five mile stretch of the Kalamazoo River from upstream of Morrow Lake to downstream of the Rockwell facility and four Operable Units (“OUs”) consisting of five disposal areas used to dispose of paper making residuals or “sludges" from the KRSG members’ mills. The OUs include: (1) Allied Paper, Inc/ Bryant Mill Pond (operated by Allied); (2) Willow Boulevard/A-Site (operated by Georgia-Pacific); (3) King Highway Landfill (operated by Georgia-Pacific); and (4) the 12th Street Landfill (operated by Simpson). The MDNR determined that each of the respondents (Allied, Georgia-Pacific and Simpson) is a “responsible party” under Section 107(a) and a “potentially responsible party” (“PRP”) within the meaning of Section 122 of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. §§ 9607(a) & 9622; that the Site is a “facility” within the meaning of Section 101(9) of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. § 9601(9); that there were and are “releases” and the threat of continuing releases of “hazardous substances” at or from the Site within the meaning of Sections 101(22) and 101(14) of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. §§ 9601(22) and 9601(14); and that the response actions called for in the AOC are consistent with the National Contingency Plan (“NCP”), 40 C.F.R. Part 300.
The AOC requires the Respondents to perform and pay for the RI/FS activities in accordance with the applicable Statement of Work (“SOW”); to perform and pay for any additional tasks conducted independently of the AOC as determined to be necessary by the MDNR to perform the RI/FS activities required by the AOC; and to reimburse the MDNR for all direct and indirect costs incurred by the MDNR in overseeing and reviewing the conduct of activities required under the AOC.
III. KRSG’s Response Costs
The parties have stipulated that the response costs incurred by Plaintiff for the work conducted relating to the RI/FS at the Site, including the work conducted by Blasland, Bouck & Lee (“BBL”) and the oversight work conducted by the MDEQ, were necessary and consistent with the National Contingency Plan.
Many of the RI/FS-related activities and investigations conducted by Plaintiff at the Site have not been associated specifically with the locations of individual KRSG member facilities due to the whole-river nature of the investigation. Plaintiff, through August, 1999, has paid approximately $21 million to BBL for work relating to the RI/FS. Of that $21 million, approximately $8.6 million relates to activity conducted by BBL adjacent to and downstream from Rockwell’s Allegan facility, plus general river (sediment, water and biota) investigation for the entire ninety-five mile stretch of the river at issue in this litigation, excluding specific PCB testing between the upstream-most KRSG member and Rockwell’s Allegan facility.
Plaintiff, through August, 1999 has paid the MDEQ approximately $8.1 million for oversight costs incurred by MDEQ relating to the RI/FS. The MDEQ’s activities at the Site generally shadowed BBL’s activities, and therefore it is appropriate to take the same percentage of BBL’s total costs that related to the general river investigation to determine the portion of MDEQ’s total oversight costs that relate to the general river investigation. Thus, approximately $1.2 million of the $8.1 million expended by MDEQ is attributable to general river (sediment, water and biota) investigation for the entire ninety-five mile stretch of the Kalamazoo River at issue in this litigation, excluding specific PCB testing between the upstream-most KRSG member and Rockwell’s Allegan facility.
Plaintiffs individual group members have allocated among themselves their percentage shares for response costs at the Site as follows: 35 percent to Allied, 35 percent to Georgia-Pacific, 15 percent to Plainwell and 15 percent to James River.
Section 113(f) CERCLA provides that “[i]n resolving contribution claims, the court may allocate response costs among liable parties using such equitable factors as the court determines are appropriate 42 U.S.C. § 9613(f). Thus, under § 113(f) the Court may consider any factor it deems in the interest of justice in allocating contribution recovery. A nonex-haustive list of such factors, commonly referred to as the “Gore Factors,” includes:
(1) the ability of the parties to demonstrate that their contribution to a discharge, release or disposal of a hazardous waste can be distinguished; (2) the amount of the hazardous waste involved; (3) the degree of toxicity of the hazardous waste involved; (4) the degree of involvement by the parties in the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, or disposal of the hazardous waste; (5) the degree of care exercised by the parties with respect to the hazardous waste concerned, taking into account the characteristics of such hazardous waste; and (6) the degree of cooperation by the parties with the Federal, State or local officials to prevent any harm to the public health or environment.
Centerior Service Co. v. Acme Scrap Iron & Metal Corp., 153 F.3d 344, 354 (6th Cir.1998) (citing United States v. Colorado & Eastern Railroad, 50 F.3d 1530, 1536 n. 5 (10th Cir.1995)). See also, United States v. R.W. Meyer, Inc., 932 F.2d 568, 571 (6th Cir.1991). The Gore factors enable the Court to take into account more varying circumstances than common law contribution. R.W. Meyer, 932 F.2d at 573.
Because one of the primary goals of CERCLA is to encourage timely cleanup of hazardous waste sites, and because CERCLA seeks to place the cost of that response on those responsible for creating or maintaining the hazardous condition, the most important factors in the allocation phase are harm to the environment and care on the part of the parties. Control Data Corp. v. S.C.S.C. Corp., 53 F.3d 930, 935-36 (8th Cir.1995). Because harm to the environment is a product of volume and toxicity, the parties’ assert that the most relevant Gore factors in this allocation phase are volume of discharge, toxicity, and cooperation with governmental authorities.
Courts are not required to make meticulous findings as to the precise causative contribution each of the parties have made to a hazardous site, as in many cases such a finding would be literally impossible. R.W. Meyer, 932 F.2d at 573-74. Similarly, the plaintiff in a contribution action may seek reimbursement even though it cannot make a meticulous factual showing as to the causal contribution of each defendant. Id. at 573-74. Although the CERCLA plaintiff is not required to prove its case with scientific certainty, it still has the burden of proving its case by a preponderance of the evidence. B.F. Goodrich v. Betkoski, 99 F.3d 505, 526 (2d Cir.1996).
In an appropriate set of circumstances, a tortfeasor’s fair share of the response costs may be zero. Acushnet Co. v. Mohasco Corp., 191 F.3d 69, 78 (1st Cir.1999). For example, in PMC, Inc. v. Sherwin-Williams Co., 151 F.3d 610, 616 (7th Cir.1998), the Seventh Circuit held that even though PMC conceded that it had dumped toxic wastes at the site, it was not unreasonable for the district court to find that a zero allocation to PMC would be appropriate where PMC’s spills were “too inconsequential to affect the cost of cleaning up significantly.” 151 F.3d at 616. As the First Circuit observed in Acushnet, “there is nothing to suggest that Congress intended to impose far-reaching liability on every party who is responsible for only trace levels of waste.” 191 F.3d at 78.
In this action Plaintiff contends that Rockwell is responsible for contributing ' 20% of the estimated 50,000 pounds of PCBs in Lake Allegan. Based upon Plaintiffs assertion that Aroclor 1254 discharged by Rockwell is 3 to 4 times more
Rockwell, on the other hand, contends that its releases of PCBs were of such a small quantity as to be negligible, and that the equitable share that should be allocated to Rockwell should be zero.
V. PCBs
PCBs were originally produced in the late 1920s. They were manufactured almost exclusively by Monsanto Corporation and were marketed under the trade name “Aroclor.” PCBs were used by industry in a variety of applications, including in dielectric fluids in capacitors and transformers, in hydraulic fluids, in cutting and soluble oils, and in quench oils. The Aroclors pertinent to this case are Aroclor 1242, Aroclor 1248, Aroclor 1254 and Aroclor 1260. The last two numbers in the particular Aroclor mixture signifies the percentage of chlorine within the mixture; the higher the number, the greater the molecular weight of the Aroclor.
PCB Aroclor 1242 is the Aroclor predominantly associated with paper recycling operations, including the recycling operations undertaken by the paper mills operated by Plaintiffs members. Aroclor 1242 was used in carbonless copy paper produced by National Cash Register (“NCR paper”) as an ink carrier or solvent during the period 1957-1971.
PCB Aroclor 1254 was used in several applications, including quench oils, hydraulic oils, and cutting oils. Aroclor 1254 was also used to a limited extent in printing inks beginning in 1968.
PCBs did not become a regulatory concern until the early 1970s. Accordingly, they entered the waste stream from a variety of sources without detection, quantification or concern by industry or government regulators until the 1970s.
PCBs have an affinity for solids or particulate matter, and generally adhere more readily to fíne grained particles than to coarse grained particles. PCBs are not very water soluble.
VI. Evidence of Rockwell’s PCB Use and Discharge
Rockwell owned property and a manufacturing plant at 1 Glass Street, Allegan.
The portion of the Kalamazoo River adjacent to the former Rockwell plant is not within the NPL Site as defined by the AOC. It is, however, within the ninety-five mile stretch of river Plaintiff has been required to address in its RI/FS. It is undisputed that to the extent Rockwell may have released PCBs to the Kalamazoo River, those PCBs cannot come to be located within the NPL Site because it is upstream of Rockwell.
The former Rockwell Allegan facility is a Superfund Site separate and apart from the Plaintiffs Superfund Site. In 1988 Rockwell entered into an AOC with the EPA to undertake a remedial investigation and feasibility study of the property. The Rockwell property became a Superfund Site because of heavy metals and other chemicals, not because of PCBs.
From 1945 until the early 1960s, Rockwell discharged its industrial wastewater into the Kalamazoo River following treatment in the Oil Floatation House. The wastewater from the Oil Floatation House contained certain amounts of sludge, heavy metals, process wastes, and oil. Rockwell’s wastes included machine coolants, oily wastewaters, and spent cutting oils. There are no records indicating that the Rockwell plant purchased quench oils, cutting oils or hydraulic oils containing PCBs. The most substantial releases of oil from the Rockwell facility were from Outfall Number One, the old outfall that received discharges from the Oil Floatation House. The dominant PCB mixture found on the Rockwell property is Aroclor 1254, but evidence of Aroclors 1242 and 1260 was also found.
There is no evidence that Rockwell conducted forging, die casting or other extremely high temperature operations that would have benefitted from the fire-resistant qualities of PCB-containing oil. From the early 1960s onward, Rockwell began making increasing use of water-based process oils, i.e., water-soluble oils. Because PCBs do not readily mix with water, they are an unlikely additive to water soluble oils. Beginning in that time frame, Rockwell discharged its waste oils into the soluble oil separation pond. The wastewater effluent from Rockwell’s treatment ponds was tested by the MDNR in 1976 and 1986. Those tests found no PCBs in Rockwell’s outfall to the Kalamazoo River.
Rockwell kept no records of its oil purchases from the 1940s to 1970s. Neither did it screen its incoming process oils for PCBs, or test its oils or effluent for PCBs until after Monsanto pulled PCBs from use in open applications in 1971. Because of this lack of information, the parties were prevented from making a precise calculation of Rockwell’s PCB discharges to the river and Rockwell’s contribution of PCBs to Kalamazoo River sediment. Nevertheless, some reasonable inferences can be drawn from the available evidence.
Based upon the higher cost of PCB-containing oils, the lack of necessity for PCB-containing oils in Rockwell’s manufacturing processes, and the low levels of PCBs found on the property, it is unlikely that Rockwell intentionally purchased PCB-containing oils. Nevertheless, it is likely that Rockwell purchased oils that contained PCBs. Mary Shafer (a/k/a Mary Geika), Project Manager of the Superfund Section of the MDEQ Environmental Response Division, observed that “vendors may not have known [that oils contained PCBs], as tests were not regularly done on oils, to look for PCBs. PCBs were com
Plaintiff’s expert, Dr. Kenneth Z. Crum-rine, estimated that Rockwell discharged between 5,000 and 10,000 pounds of PCBs to the Kalamazoo River. Dr. Crumrine based his estimate on available data relating to known oil losses to the river in 1965 as documented by the Michigan Water Resources Commission (“MWRC”), and data from Rockwell documents which shed light on the amounts of hydraulic and cutting oils Rockwell historically stored and reclaimed.
Based upon the PCB content of Monsanto hydraulic oils and cutting oils, Dr. Crumrine concluded that Rockwell is responsible for the discharge of a minimum of 5,000 to 10,000 pounds of PCBs to the Kalamazoo River.
Dr. Crumrine’s calculations are highly speculative. The Court is not persuaded that Dr. Crumrine’s estimate of the total volume of oil released by Rockwell is very probative because his thirty-two year estimate is an extrapolation from one data point. Dr. Crumrine contends that his estimate is conservative because it gives Rockwell the benefit of peak efficiency of the Hog House from 1945 to 1972, a fact known not to be true, and the most favorable discharge scenario for Rockwell from the period 1941 to 1945, when in actuality no system of any kind was in place to control oil discharges to the river. The estimate further does not account for PCB releases from other river outfalls at the Allegan facility, does not account for known seeps of oils to the river from Rockwell’s sludge pit area, which area has tested positive for PCBs, and does not account for losses from the wastewater treatment ponds, which also tested positive for PCBs.
A single measurement of a discharge, taken at a single location and point in time, should not be the basis for extrapolation to a multi-year time period, at least not without sufficient corroborative evidence that the single point was representative. See Textron Inc. By and Through Homelite Div. v. Barber-Colman Co., 903 F.Supp. 1546, 1555 (W.D.N.C.1995) (where a claim rests on wastewater test results from one year, those test results are not significantly probative absent evidence indicating they are typical); Renaud v. Martin Marietta Corp., 749 F.Supp. 1545, 1553 (D.Colo.1990), affirmed 972 F.2d 304, 308 (10th Cir.1992) (“It is unsound scientific practice to select one concentration measured at a single location and point in time and apply it to describe an 11-year period.”).
Even if the Court were to assume that Dr. Crumrine’s estimate of the volume of oils released is correct, the Court would still be faced with a matter of much greater concern — his estimate of the level of PCBs contained in that oil. Central to Dr. Crumrine’s calculation was his assumption that the hydraulic oils used by Rockwell contained 50% PCBs, based upon Monsanto records showing that its PCB-containing hydraulic fluids contained 40-70% PCBs (400,000 ppm to 700,000 ppm).
The Rockwell property rests on a layer of “light non-aqueous phase liquid,” or “LNAPL.” LNAPL is oil floating on groundwater. When oil is too heavy to float on the groundwater, it is called “dense non-aqueous phase liquid,” or “DNAPL.”
The highest concentration of PCBs found anywhere on the Rockwell property was 9 ppm of Aroclor 1254 found in the LNAPL. Aroclor 1254 was found in soil at concentrations of between .34 ppm and 1.6 ppm, and in the groundwater at concentrations of between 0.3 ppb and 3.5 ppb. Rockwell’s expert, Mr. Barrick, testified convincingly that it is physically impossible, under the circumstances at the Rockwell property, for cutting oil with a PCB concentration of 50,000 ppm or a hydraulic oil with a concentration of 500,000 ppm to be reduced to the 9 ppm concentration found in the LNAPL on the property.
Thus, even if the Court were to accept Dr. Crumrine’s assumptions regarding the volume of oil discharged, the PCBs associated with that volume would be far less than the figures suggested by Dr. Crum-rine. If the Court were to assume PCB concentrations of 9.2 ppm, the highest concentration of PCBs found in Rockwell’s LNAPL, there would be a release of approximately 8 pounds of PCBs. Even if the Court were to use the highest PCB concentration associated with Rockwell, the 35 ppm found in the sediment by the outfall from the Oil Floatation House, the total release would be approximately 16 to 20 pounds.
Assuming releases as Dr. Crumrine suggested, and assuming approximately 50,000 pounds of PCBs in Lake Allegan, the PCB discharge by Rockwell at a concentration of 9.2 ppm PCBs, would yield a theoretical contribution of no more than .002% of the total mass of PCBs in Lake Allegan.
Plaintiff contends it is inappropriate to use the 35 ppm, or any other PCB level found on Rockwell’s property, as the multiplier for calculating Rockwell’s PCB contribution to the river because Rockwell discharged these oils to the river with these high levels of PCBs through discharge pipes without dilution.
Dr. Crumrine’s general reference to other sites where there was little contamination on the site itself, yet high concentrations of PCBs in an adjoining water body
For all these reasons, the Court rejects Dr. Crumrine’s opinion that Rockwell released 5,000 to 10,000 pounds of PCBs to the Kalamazoo River. The Court finds more persuasive Mr. Barrick’s estimate that the total PCBs released by Rockwell were not likely to have exceeded 20 pounds.
VII. Evidence of KRSG Members’s PCB Use and Discharge
The four members of plaintiff KRSG have operated paper recycling mills conducting recycling and deinking operations, adjacent to the Kalamazoo River or Portage Creek, within the NPL Site. Each of the mills owned by KRSG’s members performed deinking or used carbonless copy paper as a component in their feedstock at some point in the past.
Any equitable allocation of clean-up costs must consider the relative volume of PCBs contributed by the various parties. The KRSG members admit that waste containing detectable levels of PCBs have been released from their paper-making facilities to either Portage Creek or the Kalamazoo River within the NPL Site. Plaintiffs proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law, however, contain no findings of fact with respect to the volume of PCBs discharged by its member companies. The Court is confounded by Plaintiffs request for an allocation of costs between its members and Rockwell, and its contemporaneous refusal to offer the Court any guidance with respect to one of the most important factors in such an allocation- — the volume of PCBs released by its own members.
Defendant Rockwell has produced evidence with respect to PCB releases by Plaintiffs member companies. Because Plaintiff has offered no evidence to rebut the evidence produced by Rockwell on the issue of PCB discharges by Plaintiffs members, the Court relies heavily on Rockwell’s findings of fact with respect to PCB contributions by the KRSG members.
The Court recognizes that Plaintiff is not seeking contribution from Rockwell for the remediation of the PCBs at Plaintiffs member’s landfills or at the facilities them
A Allied Paper Company, Inc.
Of the four KRSG members, Allied Paper was the largest manufacturer. Allied operated three mills within the NPL Site: Bryant Mill, Monarch Mill and King Mill. These mills practiced deinking from the 1950s through 1971.
Prior to 1953, there was no wastewater treatment at Monarch. Wastewater was discharged directly into Portage Creek. Beginning in 1953, Monarch installed a clarifier, but the clarifier effluent was still discharged to Portage Creek upstream of Bryant Mill Pond.
During the entire time that Allied was engaged in deinking, Allied experienced recurrent breakdowns with the operation of its various waste treatment systems, periodic bypasses of untreated waste from deinking operations occurred at each of the mills. Periodically, from the 1950’s through the 1970’s, MDNR staff and other witnesses observed bypasses of untreated wastes into Portage Creek and Bryant Mill Pond and observed the Pond itself to be a milky white color.
Allied disposed of its paper-making residuals at the Bryant Mill Pond, Bryant Sludge Beds, and Monarch Mill Pond landfills. The EPA has concluded that Allied’s Bryant Mill Pond is the most important upstream source of PCB-contamination at the Site and to the Kalamazoo River.
The Bryant Mill ponds were drained in July 1972, washing sediments from it downstream, and contributing to the PCB enrichment of Portage Creek by exposing these sediments to additional water surface, erosion and decomposition.
In 1976 Bryant Mill Pond was again lowered, and sediments from the pond were washed downstream into the Kalamazoo River. Over a three week period, Portage Creek turned a gray-black color from pond sediments that were churned up and transported over the dam during the lowering process. During this time period, Portage Creek water samples showed PCB levels ranging between 92.7 to 292 ppb in the water traveling over the Alcott Street Dam toward the Kalamazoo River.
Sampling and analysis of floodplain sediment in the Bryant Mill Pond Area disclosed PCB-levels as high as 1,000 ppm with surface sediment concentrations exceeding 500 ppm.
In addition to releases of PCBs caused by deinking operations, the EPA filed a civil administrative action against Allied for leakage of PCBs from transformers in violation of the Toxic Substance Control Act.
B. Georgia-Pacific
The Georgia-Pacific mill in Kalamazoo, located on King Highway, in Kalamazoo, was formerly known as the Kalamazoo Paper Company. The company practiced deinking from the 1950s to the present.
Prior to 1954, all industrial wastewater was discharged directly to the Kalamazoo River. In 1954, a primary treatment clari-fier was installed. Until 1964, overflow from the clarifier went to the Kalamazoo River. From 1964 on, the effluent from Georgia Pacific’s clarifier was sent to the Kalamazoo Waste Water Treatment Plant. During most of the 1950’s, Georgia-Pacific’s paper residuals were pumped from the clarifier to adjacent sludge de-watering lagoons located along the river. In the late 1950’s, the King Highway de-watering lagoons were constructed on the opposite side of the Kalamazoo River and paper sludge, at two to four percent solids, was pumped across the river via pipeline for
Paper sludge was periodically excavated from the de-watering lagoons and disposed of at the Willow Boulevard landfill until 1975, when the landfill reached capacity. From 1975 to 1987, the paper sludge was disposed of at the landfill known as the Willow Boulevard/A-Site (an area formerly operated by Allied as de-watering lagoons). After this time, sludges were disposed of at the King Highway Landfill, a landfill created over the top of the old Georgia-Pacific de-watering lagoons.
There is no visible berm or storm water collection system at the Willow Boulevard Landfill. PCB-contaminated paper residuals have been identified in areas throughout the landfill and extend into the Kalamazoo River adjacent to the Landfill. PCB-contaminated paper residuals continuously erode from the Willow Boulevard Landfill into the Kalamazoo River.
PCB-contaminated sludges have also been identified in areas throughout the King Highway Landfill. Prior to the placement of a steel wall between the landfill and the river, PCB-contaminated paper residuals from the King Highway Landfill eroded into the river.
The Willow Boulevard Landfill operated by Georgia Pacific contains PCB levels in surface samples as high as 270 ppm, with an average of about 88 ppm, and subsurface PCB concentrations as high as 160 ppm, with an average of about 54 ppm.
PCB concentrations in the subsurface at the A-Site Landfill used by both Georgia Pacific and Allied are as high as 330 ppm, with an average detected concentration of about 55 ppm.
In 1999 Georgia Pacific excavated PCB-contaminated waste from five former sludge lagoons on its mill property including waste in a flood plain that extended into the Kalamazoo River, but declined to excavate paper waste located in the river. Georgia Pacific also declined to excavate PCB-contaminated paper residuals located in the river off of the King Street storm sewer. Accordingly, these wastes continue to release PCBs into the river.
C. Simpson-Plainwell Paper Company
The Simpson-Plainwell paper mill practiced deinking from 1910 through 1962 at its Plainwell, Michigan, mill. Various types of waste paper were recycled at the Simpson Mill, including office paper. An internal inquiry revealed that there were significant quantities of NCR type papers in the waste.
In 1962 the Plainwell Mill listed deink-ing at 60 tons per day.
Annual waste water reporting forms filled out by Simpson for the MWRC during the 1970s, which reflect estimates of discharges of critical materials from Simpson’s outfalls to the Kalamazoo River, indicate annual discharges of PCBs ranging from less than 11 pounds to between 11 and 100 pounds.
From the early 1950’s through the early 1980’s, Simpson used the 12th Street Landfill, located adjacent to the Plainwell Dam on the Kalamazoo River, for disposal of its paper residuals. PCBs have been detected in paper residuals located in areas throughout the Twelfth Street Landfill.
D. James River Paper Company
James River Corporation and its predecessors (KVP Sutherland and Brown Company) have operated two paper-making facilities along the Kalamazoo River since 1939. One is the Specialty Papers Division located in Parchment, Michigan (“Parchment Facility”), and the second is a box board manufacturing plant in Kalamazoo (“Kalamazoo Mill”). The Kalamazoo Mill also operated a deinking facility for a period of years during the 1970s.
From 1939 through the mid 1970s, all effluent from Mill No. 1 operations at the Parchment Facility was discharged directly to the Kalamazoo River after passing through a series of settling lagoons. A clarifier and sludge dewatering system was implemented at Parchment Mill No. 2 in the mid to late 1970s.
The Kalamazoo Mill box board manufacturing plant used pulp made of 100% recycled waste paper as furnish in its operations.
The pulp mill used primarily office waste paper as furnish for its operations.
In 1976, James River conducted a study to determine PCB concentrations in samples of white and colored ledger waste paper used as furnish in its deinking mill. All of the samples taken contained PCBs, some with PCB levels as high as 6549.6 ppm, 9605.9 ppm, 6025.4 ppm, and 11,312.7 ppm.
The paper residuals from both the Kalamazoo Mill and the Parchment Mill were deposited in James River’s landfill at the Parchment Mill located near the Kalamazoo River. In 1987, the MDNR detected PCBs in soil/sludge samples from James River’s landfill.
A reasonable inference can be made that PCBs were attached to the suspended solids in the effluent that the paper mills discharged to the Kalamazoo River. James River’s comparison of PCB levels in clarifier influent, effluent and paper residuals (vacuum filter solids) from the James River clarifier prompted a James River employee to note that the concentration of PCBs generally follows the trend of suspended solids in the effluent: the higher the suspended solids, the higher the PCBs.
E. Total contributed by Plaintiff’s members
An expert retained by Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Richard B. Valley, prepared a report in 1990, estimating amounts of PCBs discharged by the paper mills during the period from 1960 to 1979. Mr. Valley estimated that Allied discharged between 895,000 and 1,790,000 pounds of PCBs; Georgia-Pacific discharged between 560,000 and 1,120,000 pounds of PCBs; James River discharged between 512,000 and 1,025,000 pounds of PCBs; and Simpson discharged between 254,000 and 507,000 pounds of PCBs.
Not all of those quantities are at issue in this allocation action. The focus of this action is only on those PCBs in the relevant portions of the Kalamazoo River and Portage Creek. In 1997 the MDEQ estimated that approximately 350,000 pounds of PCBs are present at the NPL Site.
VIII. Evidence from the Fish
Plaintiff seeks a finding that because the Aroclor 1254 bioaccumulation rate in fish is three to four times greater than the bioac-cumulation rate of Aroclor 1242, and because PCBs in fish are driving the investigation and clean-up at the Site, Rockwell’s PCB releases are more toxic than plaintiffs release by a factor of between three and four.
Since 1977 the Michigan Department of Community Health has placed a fish advisory/ban on portions of Portage Creek and the Kalamazoo River, due to elevated levels of PCBs in fish.
Yet, on cross-examination, Dr. Brown testified that there are components in fish in Bryant Mill pond that come from 1254 and 1260.
According to Mr. Barrick, fish studies do not indicate any additional bioaccumulation of 1254 in the area of Rockwell.
Because there is no evidence of elevated levels of PCBs in the fish downstream of Rockwell, the fish do not provide evidence that Rockwell contributed significant or measurable amounts of PCBs to the river.
Plaintiff nevertheless relies on evidence that more highly chlorinated PCB mixtures (those with higher molecular weights) are more carcinogenic than lower chlorinated PCB mixtures. Moreover, higher molecular weight PCBs bioaccumu-late in fish in quantitatively higher levels than lower molecular weight PCBs. Given exposure to equal amounts of Aroclors 1242 and 1254, fish bioaccumulate three to four times more of Aroelor 1254 than Aroc-lor 1242. PCB levels in fish are one of the driving forces in determining the need for environmental responses in the Kalamazoo River and other aquatic PCB sites. This is because PCBs may be introduced into the food chain when fish are consumed by animals, and, potentially, by humans. Plaintiff contends that because Aroelor 1254 is more toxic than 1242, a smaller contribution of Aroelor 1254 should be weighted more heavily than an equal contribution of Aroelor 1242.
On the other hand, there is also evidence in the record that Aroelor 1242 contains a particularly toxic congener, known as Con-gener 77. That congener makes up a greater percentage of 1242 than it does of 1254 (in which it is also found, but in smaller amounts).
The MDEQ establishes regulatory criteria and fish advisories based upon the presence of total PCBs. It does not distinguish between Aroclors, such as Aroelor 1242, Aroelor 1254, and Aroelor 1260.
IX. Evidence of PCBs in the River
Notwithstanding the overwhelming evidence of Plaintiffs members’ contribution of large quantities of PCBs to the river, or perhaps because of that evidence, Plaintiff has attempted to shift this Court’s focus from Aroelor 1242 to Aroelor 1254 and from the entire ninety-five mile length of the Kalamazoo River at issue in this case to Lake Allegan, at the most downstream end of the Site.
Plaintiff contends that its members contributed only very minor amounts of Aroc-lor 1254 to the river. In support of this contention Plaintiff directs the Court’s attention to the Aroelor 1242/1254 ratio in the controlled environment of Bryant Mill Pond, where the predominant source was one of Plaintiffs paper mill members. The ratio of Aroelor 1242 to 1254 in Bryant Mill Pond is more than 20 to 1, while the ratio of Aroelor 1242 to 1254 in the sediments in the Kalamazoo River is much lower, between 4 to 1 and 6 to 1.
Because there is no evidence to show that Allied is typical of all of KRSG’s
Moreover, although Plaintiff asserts that its members contributed only minor amounts of Aroclor 1254 to the river, Plaintiff has offered the Court no evidence to enable the Court to determine the nature or extent of its members’ release of Aroclor 1254. There is no question that Plaintiffs members contributed some quantities of Aroclor 1254 to the river as Aroclor 1254 was found in each of the Plaintiffs members’ landfills, lagoons and/or clarifiers.
Even if Plaintiffs comparison of the Ar-oclor 1242/1254 ratio in Bryant Mill Pond to the 1242/1254 ratio in the river might suggest releases of Aroclor 1254 by entities other than the KRSG members, it does not suggest any contribution of 1254 by Rockwell. There are other sources of Aroclor 1254 to the river, including plaintiffs member mills, the Auto Ion site upstream of Rockwell, the Publicly-Owned Treatment Works for the cities of Allegan, Otsego, Plainwell and Kalamazoo, upstream of Rockwell, as well as existing background levels of 1254.
If the only evidence before the Court were the gas chromatographs, the Court might find that that evidence, standing alone, was not sufficiently precise to reflect small, but still significant contributions to the river. The gas chromatographs, however, do not stand alone. They are confirmed by the other evidence in this case. As noted above, the evidence from the Rockwell plant, tends to show a very small contribution of PCBs. The minimal nature of Rockwell’s PCB contribution is also confirmed by 300 samples of river sediment taken from between the Rockwell plant and Lake Allegan.
At the conclusion of the Phase I trial, this Court opined that there was insufficient evidence of sampling from depositional areas where PCBs from Rockwell’s oils would be expected to have come to
Mr. Barrick analyzed 300 river sediment samples between Rockwell and Lake Alle-gan.
In one area 1.7 miles downstream of Rockwell, one core, BR-27, showed elevated levels of 1254: Aroclor 1254 increased from the surface at concentrations of 190 ppb to a location 2/t to 3 feet below the surface where the concentrations increased to 10 ppm, and then below that they decreased.
Plaintiff contends that BR-27 and elevated Aroclor 1254 detections in at least a half dozen sediment samples within 1.7 river miles of Rockwell’s Allegan facility
According to Mr. Barrick, the sample at BR-27 was an anomaly. What makes BR-27 unique is not just the amount of 1254, but the high ratio of 1254 to 1242.
The additional sampling and analysis conducted by Rockwell’s consultant more than adequately addresses the Court’s previous concern about the representative nature of the sampling. The Court concludes that the sampling of the river and the analysis by Mr. Barrick reflect sound scientific methodology and yield reliable results. This Court is satisfied that BR-27 does not confirm a significant contribution of Aroclor 1254 by Rockwell. If Rockwell had been a significant course of 1254 to the river, there would be a number of findings like those at BR-27, showing an elevated ratio of 1254 to 1242. It is implausible that a discharge from Rockwell would be reflected in only one sample location (BR-27), while no evidence of such a discharge is seen in any of the other 299 sediment samples between Rockwell and Lake Allegan.
The absence of an increase in 1254 downstream of Rockwell constitutes credible and persuasive evidence that the former Rockwell Allegan facility is, at best,
By contrast, the PCB contribution by Plaintiffs members is very large. Plaintiff has admitted that its members are responsible for most of the Aroclor 1242 in the river. Assuming Plaintiff is responsible for all of the 1242 and none of the 1254, and assuming the accuracy of the MDEQ’s estimate that there are 350,000 pounds of PCBs in the river sediments, at a 4:1 ratio of 1242 to 1254, Plaintiffs members would be responsible for 280,000 pounds of PCBs. At a 6:1 ratio, Plaintiffs members would be responsible for 300,000 pounds.
VI. Cooperation
The final Gore factor the parties contend is significant to the Court’s analysis in this allocation action is “the degree of cooperation by the parties with Federal, State, or local officials to prevent any harm to the public health or the environment.” See Meyer, 932 F.2d at 571.
As evidence of Rockwell’s recalcitrance, Plaintiff focuses on evidence that Rockwell historically engaged in improper oil disposal practices, and evidence that Rockwell and the EPA have had disagreements over the Rockwell Superfund Site, to the extent that the EPA has retaken control over the Rockwell Superfund Site for purposes of conducting the remedial investigation.
The Court does not find that the evidence of Rockwell’s historical disposal practices is of much significance in this action. The paper companies had similar histories of discharging suspended solids directly to the Kalamazoo River in excess of their MWRC permits. Historical discharge practices is not a factor that that weighs against one party more than another.
There is also no evidence that Rockwell has refused to cooperate with the MDNR or the EPA on the site at issue in this case, as Rockwell has not been named a PRP. As to the disagreements between Rockwell and the EPA over the Rockwell Superfund Site, the Court finds that such disagreement has little relevance to this action. PCBs are not the focus of that action. To the extent the issue of PCBs has come up in connection with Rockwell’s own Superfund Site, the issue is minuscule compared with the continued release of PCBs from Plaintiffs members’ OUs where the level of PCBs is higher and the continued release of PCBs is well documented and continuing.
Finally, the Court notes that in June 1999 the MDEQ advised that the data submitted by KRSG was insufficient to develop an appropriate understanding of contaminant distribution across the study area.
Dr. Brown testified in November 1999 that the additional work requested by the MDEQ was scheduled to begin the following week.
Because the Court finds a lack of full cooperation by both parties, the Court concludes that the cooperation factor does not weigh in favor of one party more than another.
Conclusion
In resolving Plaintiffs contribution claim against Rockwell, the Court may allocate response costs using such equitable factors as the court determines are appropriate. 42 U.S.C. § 9613(f). In this action the Court finds that the most important Gore factor is the quantity of PCBs released.
The Court recognizes that this case presents the not uncommon situation where companies have disposed of waste without knowing its contents. See B.F. Goodrich, 99 F.3d at 526. This is true of the KRSG members as well as Defendant Rockwell. In such cases, because the parties lack direct evidence of the fact that others have dumped hazardous wastes, or of the amount of hazardous wastes that were dumped, the Court must rely on circumstantial evidence in order to accomplish the broad, remedial purpose of CERCLA. Id.
Although Plaintiff is not required to prove its case with direct evidence or with mathematical precision, it still has the burden of proving its equitable right to contribution by a preponderance of the evidence. Id.
Because this Court has determined that quantity is the most important allocation factor in this case, the allocation analysis must begin with an estimate of the quantity of hazardous wastes at issue, and then proceed to a determination of the parties’ relative contributions to that total amount.
Plaintiff has produced almost no evidence to enable the Court to begin its analysis. The figures Plaintiff has provided are not consistent or helpful. The Court is left with little to begin with beyond the undisputed fact that the recycling and deinking of office paper, which included carbonless copy paper from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s, is the major cause of PCB contamination at the Site. Plaintiffs landfills are a continuing source of PCBs to the river. The PCB concentration in those landfills frequently exceeds 100 ppm. Based upon the varied estimates presented and Plaintiffs failure to present any evidence contradicting or clarifying the rough estimates, the Court concludes that KRSG’s members are responsible for releasing hundreds of thousands of pounds of PCBs to the Site.
Balanced against Plaintiffs members’ overwhelming contribution of PCBs, is the evidence regarding Rockwell’s contribution. For all the detail Plaintiff has presented on Rockwell’s historical release of oils to the river, Plaintiff has presented little credible evidence on the quantity of PCBs contained in that oil. Given the low levels of PCBs on the Rockwell property, and the fact that the river sediments and the fish tend to show no significant contribution by Rockwell, the Court finds that Rockwell’s PCB contribution was very minimal, particularly in contrast to the contribution by Plaintiffs members. Rockwell’s PCB contribution did not exceed background levels and would not in itself have resulted in a need for remediation of the Kalamazoo River.
Having considered the equities in this case, the Court concludes that Rockwell should not be required to contribute to the remediation of the Allied Paper, Inc./Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund Site. The PCB releases by Plaintiffs members are more than sufficient to justify imposing on Plaintiff the entire cost of response activities relating to the NPL Site.
. Plaintiff KRSG’s claims against Defendants Benteler Industries, Inc., Upjohn Company, Menasha Corporation, and two of Eaton’s facilities were dismissed pursuant to orders granting summary judgment dated February 21, 1997, March 6, 1998, and June 30, 1998. Plaintiff’s claims against Wells Aluminum Corporation and Hercules, Inc. were dismissed pursuant to stipulations and orders dated January 20, 1998, and July 16, 1998. Plaintiff's claims against Rock-Tenn Company, were dismissed on September 28, 1998, pursuant to a settlement agreement between the parties.
. AOC, at 2, Tr. Ex. 8803.
. MDEQ 3/19/97 Briefing Report, Tr. Ex. 8810.
.AOC at 2, Tr. Ex. 8803.
. Id. at 3-4.
. Id. at 4-5.
. KRSG v. Rockwell, 12/8/98 Opinion at 41-42.
. Id.
. Dr. Mark P. Brown testimony, 11/9-10/99 at 20, 30-31; Blasland Bouck & Lee Costs, Tr. Ex. 4228.
.Brown testimony 11/10/99 at 102-03; Let-tinga & Associates September 1999 Invoice, Tr. Ex. 5650.
. Versar, Inc., PCBs Involvement in the Pulp and Paper Industry, (Feb.1977) at 2. Tr. Ex. 8017.
. Id.
. Richard B. Valley, Sources of PCB Contamination in the Kalamazoo River, (July 23, 1990), at 1, Tr. Ex. 8804.
. Id. at 3.
. Brown testimony, 8/10/98 at 77-79.
. Robert C. Barrick testimony, 11/10/99, at 27-28.
. Results from MDNR Industrial Wastewater surveys of March 22-23, 1976, and June 9-10, 1986, Tr. Exs. 5012, 5014, 5025 & 5027.
. Shafer letter of November 30, 1993, at 2, Tr. Ex. 1267.
. Barrick testimony, 11/10/99, at 44, 88-89.
. Dr. Kenneth Z. Crumrine testimony, 11/8/99, at 50-51, 75-92, 99; Tr. Exs. 1239, 1241, 1128, 1407, 1408, 1410 & 1411.
. MWRC Report of Survey at Rockwell, March 9-11, 1965, Tr. Ex. 1064.
. Crumrine testimony, 11/8/99, at 76.
. Dr. Crumrine estimated that Rockwell used 40,000 gallons of hydraulic fluid and 20,000 gallons of cutting fluid per year. He calculated a total usage of 1,920,000 gallons of oil over the 32 year period. Crumrine testimony, 11/8/99, at 85-88.
. Crumrine testimony, 11/8/99 at 94-102.
. Crumrine testimony, 11/8/99, at 63-73, 169-71.
. Id. at 92-93.
. Barrick testimony, 11/10/99, at 101.
. Id.
. Id. at 102-104.
. Id. at 102-104.
. See Versar Report, at 2-3, Tr. Ex. 8017.
. Barrick testimony, 11/10/99, at 102.
. Id. at 113.
. Id. at 114-15.
. Id. at 112-115.
. Crumrine testimony, 11/8/99, at 178-79.
. Id. at 179.
. Hanson dep. at 28-30 (Georgia-Pacific); Gilman 6/20/97 dep. at 30-31, 107-108 (Allied); Huisman dep. at 24-25 (James River); Lawton dep. at 72-75 (Simpson); Brown Company (predecessor of James River) mem-oranda of 6/14/76 & 6/21/76, Tr. Ex. 8012 & 8013.
. Versar Report, Tr. Ex. 8017.
. Brown testimony, 8/10/98, at 112-43; MDEQ August 1997 Information Packet re Allied Paper, Inc./Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund Site, Tr. Ex. 8811; EPA April 17, 1998 Action Memorandum, Tr. Ex. 8812; EPA May 28, 1998 Addendum to Action Memorandum, Tr. Ex. 8813.
. Brown testimony, 8/10/98, at 91-92.
. Technical Memorandum 15, pp. 1-1 — 1-6, Tr. Ex. 8715.
. Allied 1960 Document for Distributors, at 3, Tr. Ex. 8236.
. Valley Report, at 4, Tr. Ex. 8804.
. Brown testimony, 8/11/98, at 136-37.
. Falvey dep. at 11-23.
. Falvey dep. at 39-43.
. Falvey dep. at 27-30.
. Chart of suspended solids — pounds/day, Tr. Ex. 8232.
. Kalamazoo Inter-Office Correspondence, January 20, 1958, Tr. Ex. 8202; MWRC correspondence and memoranda of August 2, 1961, May 28, 1965, June 16, 1965, July 14, 1970, November 19, 1975, and March 21, 1983, Tr. Exs. 8205, 8207, 8208, 8209, 8214, & 8222.
. EPA May 28, 1998, Addendum to Action Memorandum, at 2, Tr. Ex. 8813.
. Draft Technical Memorandum 7, at 34 and Table 3-10, Tr. Ex. 8719.
. Id. at 35; Brown testimony, 8/11/98, at 117-119.
. Brown testimony, 8/11/98, at 135; Technical Memorandum 15, Table 3-10, Tr. Ex. 8715.
. Allied Paper Mill Outfall Data, MWRC, January 1973, at KB00203511, Tr. Ex. 8235.
. Allied May 11, 1976 letter to MDNR, Tr. Ex. 8216. See also Falvey dep. at 135; Harvey dep. at 133; Brooks dep. at 97-98; Cornelius dep., Sept. 8, 1997, at 36-37.
. EPA April 17, 1998, Action Memorandum, at 2, Tr. Ex. 8812.
. EPA Action Memorandum and Addendum re Removal Action, Tr. Exs. 8812 & 8813; Cornelius dep., 10/12/99, at 15-20.
. 1981 Versar Report on PCB Inspection of Allied’s facility, Tr. Ex. 8220; 1982 EPA Complaint, Tr. Ex. 8221.
. Technical Memorandum 15, p. 1-1, Tr. Ex. 8715.
. Valley Report, at 4, Tr. Ex. 8804.
. Hanson dep. at 27-30.
. Technical Memorandum 15, at 1-1 and 1-2, Tr. Ex. 8715.
. Technical Memorandum 15, at 1-1 and 1-2, Tr. Ex. 8715; Cornelius dep. 10/12/99, at 26-31.
. Technical Memorandum 9, at 39, Tr. Ex. 8738; Cornelius dep., 9/8/97, at 26-29, 102-114; Cornelius dep., 10/12/99, at 26-31.
. Cornelius dep., 10/12/99, at 34.
. Technical Memorandum 15, at 2-5, Tr. Ex. 8715; Technical Memorandum 6, at 29-31 & Table 3-9, Tr. Ex. 8725; Cornelius dep., 10/12/99, at 35-38.
. Brown testimony, 8/11/98, at 132-33; Technical Memorandum 15, Table 3-2, Tr. Ex. 8715.
. Brown testimony, 8/11/98, at 133; Technical Memorandum 15, at 3-1 — 3-2, Tr. Ex. 8715.
. Brown testimony, 8/11/98, at 126-27; Technical Memorandum 9, p. 24, and Table 3-11, Tr. Ex. 8738.
. Brown testimony, 8/11/98, at 126-28; Cornelius dep., 9/8/97, at 26; Technical Memorandum 9 at 25, 39, Tr. Ex. 8738.
. Technical Memorandum 9, at 25, Tr. Ex. 8738; Brown testimony, 8/11/98, at 126; Cornelius dep., 9/8/97, at 26, 103-104.
. Brown testimony, 8/11/98, at 127; Technical Memorandum 9, at 24 and Table 3-9, Tr. Ex. 8738.
. Brown testimony, 8/11/98, at 128-30; Technical Memorandum 6, Table 3-9, Tr. Ex. 8725.
. Cornelius dep., 10/12/99, at 41-43, 46-47. Brown testimony, 11/10/99, at 58-59.
. Lawton Dep. at 72-75.
. Technical Memorandum 15, p. 1-2, Tr. Ex. 8715.
. Valley Report, at 4, Tr. Ex. 8804.
. Hamilton Paper Company Report on Waste Disposal, 1947 to July 1960, Tr. Ex. 8600.
. Brown testimony, 8/11/98, at 134-35; Technical Memorandum 15, Table 3-5, Tr. Ex. 8715.
. MWRC Wastewater Outfall Reports, Tr. Exs. 8617 & 8619.
. MDEQ July 1997, Proposed Plan Fact Sheet, 12th Street Landfill, at 3, Tr. Ex. 8616; Brown testimony, 11/10/99, at 59-61.
. MDEQ July 1997, Proposed Plan Fact Sheet, 12th Street Landfill, at 4, Tr. Ex. 8616; Brown testimony, 8/11/98, at 131-32; Technical Memorandum 8, at 4-6 and Table 3-8. Tr. Ex. 8615.
. Cornelius dep., 9/8/97, at 30-33, 119-128; Lawton dep. at 63-72; 1989 letter re PCB testing of landfill, Tr. Ex. 8611; Technical Memorandum 8, at 3-12 to 3-13, 6-1 to 6-2, Table 3-8 Tr. Ex. 8615; MDEQ July 1997 Proposed Plan Fact Sheet, Tr. Ex. 8616; Brown testimony, 8/11/98, at 132.
. Cornelius dep., 10/12/99, at 49-51.
. Ferguson dep. at 14-16; Nitz dep. at 38-39.
. James River June 9, 1972 interoffice correspondence, Tr. Ex. 8000; Ferguson dep. at 18.
. Zinkus dep. at 19.
. Ferguson dep. at 14-16.
. Huisman dep. at 21-22; Nitz dep. at 30-33; James River letter of 10/19/81 re PCB Data, Tr. Ex. 8022.
. Nitz dep. at 38-39.
. 1976 lab reports re PCBs in Brown Company effluent, Tr. Ex. 8007, at KJ 01000022.
. Brown Company memoranda of June 14 and June 21, 1976, Trial Exs. 8012 & 8013.
. Brown Company August 1976 lab report, Tr. Ex. 8015. See also Brown Company September 1976 lab report, Tr. Ex. 8016.
. Huisman dep. at 99-101, 122-24.
. Brown Company 4/7/77 inter-office correspondence and lab report, Tr. Ex. 8018.
. Brown Company 6/21/76 inter-office correspondence, Tr. Ex. 8013.
. MDNR 8/18/87 letter to James River re PCB sampling data, Tr. Ex. 8023.
. April 2, 1976 lab report on PCB sample, Tr. Ex. 8009; Huisman dep. at 53-67, 43-49, 102-106.
. Barrick testimony, 8/14/98, at 118-21; Brown Company lab reports, comparing PCB levels in clarifier influent, effluent and paper residuals/vacuum filter solids, Tr. Exs. 8008, 8015, & 8016; Brown Company Inter-Office Correspondence of 2/17/76 re PCB testing of effluent, Tr. Ex. 8008.
. Valley Report, Appendix A, at i-ii, Tr. Ex. 8804.
. Id. at i.
. March 1997 MDEQ Briefing Report prepared by Scott Cornelius, Tr. Ex. 8810.
. Brown testimony, 8/11/98, at 106-07.
. Id. at 107-08.
. Id. at 108-109.
. Id. at 109.
. EPA May 28, 1998 memorandum, at 4-5, Tr. Ex. 8813. In 1998 the U.S. Department of Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service reported that bald eagles who prey on the fish in the river had not been able to reproduce successfully for at least the past seven years. A bald eagle egg collected in 1994 contained PCBs at 102 ppm. EPA Action Memorandum and Addendum to Action Memorandum, April 17, 1998, p. 10 and May 28, 1998, at 4, Trial Ex. 8812 & 8813.
. Brown testimony, 11/9/99, at 41-42.
. Id. at 75.
. Id. at 75.
. Id. at 76.
. Id.
. Id. at 77.
. Barrick testimony, 11/10/99, at 83-86; Ratio of PCB components in carp fillet, Tr. Ex. 5643; Ratio of PCB components in whole sucker, Tr. Ex. 5644.
. Brown testimony, 11/9/99, at 82.
. Id. at 77-78, 82.
. Id. at 70-71.
. Barrick testimony, 11/10/99, at 87-88; Brown testimony, 11/9/99, at 73.
. Barrick testimony, 11/10/99, at 88.
. Allied: Draft Technical Memorandum 7, Table 3-10, Tr. Ex. 8719; Technical Memorandum 15, Table 3-2, Tr. Ex. 8715; Brown testimony, 8/11/98, at 120-21; Cornelius dep., 9/8/97, at 84-86; Georgia-Pacific: Technical Memorandum 9, Table 3-11, Tr. Ex. 8738; Brown testimony, 8/11/98, at 130-33; Technical Memorandum 6, Table 3-9, Tr. Ex. 8725; Simpson-Plainwell: Cornelius dep., 9/8/97, at 123-25; Brown testimony, 8/11/98, at 132; Technical Memorandum 8, at 3-12 — 3-13 & Table 3-8, Tr. Ex. 8615; James River: MDNR 8/18/87 letter to James River re PCB sampling results, Tr. Ex. 8023.
. Brown testimony, 11/9/99, at 58-61, 62-64. 64-69. 76.
. See Comparison of the ratios of Aroclor 1242:1254 concentrations in Kalamazoo River and Portage Creek, Tr. Ex. 5637; Comparison of Aroclors 1242:1254 ratios in Portage Creek and other locations downstream to Lake Allegan Dam, Tr. Ex. 5638.
. Barrick testimony, 11/10/99, at 76; Comparison of the ratios of Aroclor 1242:1254 concentrations in Kalamazoo River and Portage Creek, Ex. 5637.
. Barrick testimony, 11/10/99, at 70-71; Barrick testimony, 8/14/98, at 105-110; Illustrative charts comparing PCB fingerprints, Tr. Exs. 8919. 8920. & 8927.
. Barrick testimony, 11/10/99, at 33-36; Aerial photo showing probable depositional areas below Rockwell Facility, Tr. Ex. 5633.
. Barrick testimony, 11/10/99, at 29-32.
. Barrick testimony, 11/10/99, at 78.
. Id. at 52-54; Odor and/or sheen presence compared with PCB concentration in samples at different depths in sediment core RR-11, Tr. Ex. 5641.
. Between the Rockwell facility and BR-27, there were also samples with concentrations of Aroclor 1254 at levels of 4.7 ppm, 6.2 ppm, 4.5 ppm. Brown testimony, 11/10/99, at 142-46.
. Barrick testimony, 11/10/99 at 74.
. Id. at 75.
. Id. at 75-76.
. June 11, 1999 letter from Scott Cornelius of the Superfund Section of MDEQ’s Environmental Response Division to Dr. Brown, Tr. Ex. 5507.
. Id.
. Brown testimony, 11/9/99, at 50.
. Brown testimony, 8/11/98, at 104-05.