An appeals court overturned an earlier ruling by a US District Court denying Whittaker the right to sue the federal government for cleanup costs of its California property.
The new ruling allows Whittaker to sue the government for costs incurred in its more than two decades-long effort to clean the water system in its Santa Clarita facility.
Whittaker lawyer Kevin M. Fong said the case will now revert to the 9th District for another round of hearings. He added that the cleanup costs have reached “multimillion dollar” levels.
The lower court dismissed Whittaker’s case initially, partly because of delay in the company’s claims filing. Castaic Lake Water Agency won an earlier suit against Whittaker, with the latter held liable for the expense of removing the hazardous chemical perchlorate from the groundwater tapped by agency wells. Perchlorate causes hormonal imbalances, which leads to associated health disorders.
Since the lower court made its decision, Whittaker has spent out-of-pocket funds and money from insurance coverage to underwrite the cost of decontaminating the Whittaker Bermite property.
It has constructed a water decontamination facility with a permanent plant starting construction in February, and slated for completion in 2017. If trials prove successful, it is expected to be fully operational in 2018.
