United States v. WR Grace

BETTY B. FLETCHER, Circuit Judge:

From 1963 until the early 1990s, W.R. Grace (“W.R. Grace” or “Grace”) mined and processed a rich supply of vermiculite ore outside of Libby, Montana. In response to ongoing serious health problems suffered by Libby residents, the government obtained an indictment charging W.R. Grace and seven of its executives (together “Grace”) with criminal conduct arising from Grace’s vermiculite operation in Libby. The superseding indictment charges defendants-appellees with (1) conspiring knowingly to release asbestos, a hazardous air pollutant, into the ambient air,…