C.A. 4th;
D070771

The Fourth Appellate District affirmed in part and reversed in part a judgment and remanded. The court held that a water district may be able to recover some, but not all, of its future costs associated with a groundwater protection program.

The Orange County Water District sued the owners and operators of several industrial site's to recover the district's past and future costs associated with the North Basin Groundwater Protection Project (NBGPP), a proposed $200 million effort intended to address groundwater contamination in northern Orange County. The district asserted statutory claims for damages under the Carpenter-Presley-Tanner Hazardous Substances Account Act (HSAA) and the Orange County Water District Act (OCWD Act) and for declaratory relief. The district also asserted common law claims for negligence, nuisance, and trespass.