A Long Island water district's attempt to hold aerospace and defense manufacturer Northrop Grumman accountable for legacy pollution affecting local water supplies failed before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, after a panel Friday upheld a lower court's order for summary judgment because the claims were time-barred under New York State law.

Underground pollution caused by the company at a facility in Bethpage has long been an issue, going back to the 1980s. Despite remedial efforts put in place through agreements with the federal government, new pollution problems were discovered at the site beginning in 2007. The threatened water supplies needed significant new treatment, requiring the town of Oyster Bay to authorize the issuance of a $13.95 million bond in 2010.

The water district sued Northrop Grumman in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in November 2013, alleging negligence, trespass, and nuisance while seeking to recover the costs of remediation for the most recent cleanup. U.S. District Judge Sandra Feuerstein approved a magistrate's recommendation that the court grant the company's summary judgment because the three-year statute of limitations had passed by the time the water district sued.