U.S. Oil Recovery Site Potentially Responsible Parties Grp. v. R.R. Comm'n of Tex.

JAMES C. HO, Circuit Judge:

*500When the states ratified the Constitution, they did not abrogate their sovereignty, but instead created a federal government of limited, enumerated powers. As the Supreme Court has observed, "the founding document 'specifically recognizes the States as sovereign entities.' " Alden v. Maine , 527 U.S. 706, 713, 119 S.Ct. 2240, 144 L.Ed.2d 636 (1999) (quoting Seminole Tribe of Fla. v. Florida , 517 U.S. 44, 71 n.15, 116 S.Ct. 1114, 134 L.Ed.2d 252 (1996) ). "Any doubt regarding the constitutional role of the States as sovereign entities is removed by the Tenth…