Seattle City Light v. Department of Transportation

Seven public utilities sued the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) under the Washington Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) for contribution to recover remedial action costs associated with cleaning up a Superfund site. WSDOT appeals the trial court’s decision that it was hable and had to pay the Utilities 1.8 percent of the total site cleanup costs, some attorney fees, expenses and other costs. We affirm the trial court’s holding that WSDOT is technically liable under the MTCA, but reverse the court’s holding that WSDOT pay remedial action costs to the Utilities. Because the…