United States v. P/B STCO 213, ON 527 979

TATE, Circuit Judge:

These three consolidated appeals require us to decide what, if any, limitations period governs actions brought by the United *366States under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) to recover the cost of cleaning waters polluted by the discharge of oil or hazardous substances. See 33 U.S.C. § 1321(f)(1) (establishing the cause of action).

AH' three appeals involve the cleanup of oil discharged from barges into navigable waters. The defendants — the alleged polluters — did not clean up the discharges. Accordingly, the United States hired private contractors to do the…