In the Matter of the Complaint of ALLIED TOWING CORPORATION 478 F. Supp 398 United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Norfolk Division October 10, 1979
Statement of the Case A barge owned by Allied Towing sank and spilled oil into the Chesapeake Bay. The United States filed a claim under Section 311 of the CWA for cleanup costs in the amount of $600,000, while the state of Virginia filed a claim under Section 62.1.34:2 of the Code of Virginia seeking $130,315.05 for a civil penalty, cleanup costs, and damage to natural resources, specifically for the loss of 4,884 waterfowl. Allied filed a Complaint seeking exoneration or limitation of liability under the Limitation of Liability Act, 46 U.S.C. Section 181-89 and Section 33(f)(1) of the Clean Water Act. Among Allied‟s arguments was that Federal recovery for the cleanup costs of the spill preempted the state‟s recovery. Issue Is a state claim for damages to a state‟s natural resources preempted by the Federal government's claim for “recovery costs” for cleaning up an oil spill? Holding The CWA‟s amendments to the FWPCA, “does not preempt state created liability for oil spills, and no part of Virginia‟s claim under state law for damage to its natural resources has been satisfied by the settlement between Allied and the United States.” Discussion Allied argued that, “the Clean Water Act‟s amendments made the costs of restoring or replacing natural resources, including Virginia‟s waterfowl, part of the „costs of removal‟ recoverable only by the United States, and that the states must look to the Federal Government, not the vessel owner or operator, for reimbursement for these costs.” The Court, in refusing to find that Congress meant the CWA‟s amendments to preclude a state created liability for oil spills, pointed to among other things, several Congressional records which discussed and expressly ruled against Federal preemption.