The Trail Smelter, the Columbia River, and the Extraterritorial Application of CERCLA

This article will explore the extraterritorial application of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) in the context of the Trail Smelter dispute. The Trail Smelter has played a leading role in the development of law and the well being of the people and environment in the US and Canada during the last 100 years. The Trail Smelter has produced large quantities of valuable metals and important economic development for British Columbia. Unfortunately, the Trail Smelter has also produced and discharged huge amounts of air and water pollution that threaten the health of plants, animals, and people in Washington State. The discharges of hazardous substances into the Columbia River led to a lawsuit in the Eastern District of Washington that has begun to shape the analytical framework, law, and policy applicable to the extraterritorial application of CERCLA in the twenty-first century.