- Environmental problems in Montana include asbestos contamination and pollution from over a hundred years of mining.Northern Plains Montana Glacier National Park image by Jennifer LaFleur from Fotolia.com
Montana has serious environmental contamination problems, such as asbestos and mining pollution in soil and groundwater. Under the Montana statues, injured individuals can file legal claims for injury to health or personal property within a specific time period. However, the federal Superfund statute, properly referred to as CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980) includes a discovery rule that changes the state-mandated statute of limitations for environmental claims. - Montana statutes provide a two-year period from when injury was noted to file a claim for "injury to or waste or trespass on real or personal property." Other actions, not specified in the statute have a five-year limitation for filing a claim. Tort actions must be filed within three years of injury action. (Montana Code, Title 27, Chapter 2). The statute of limitations provides that only one claim can be filed per incident (although toxic tort law allows claims to be pooled) and, if not filed in time, the right to sue is lost.
- CERCLA Section 9658 provides that if a state statute of limitation begins earlier than the federally required commencement date then the federal date supersedes the state statute. The federal commencement date is the date the plaintiff knew (or reasonably should have known) about personal injury as a result of hazardous pollution. Special provisions for minors and incompetent people determine that statute of limitations begins when they are of legal age or, in the case of incompetence, become competent or obtain adequate legal representation. The discovery rule allows claims to be filed within a certain time period of actual knowledge of injury and direct cause to hazardous substance release and is of benefit to injured parties in the event that hazardous substances may have been released decades in the past but injury and impact is not discovered until the state statute of limitations has expired. The state statute of limitation begins running from the date of release and some companies use the expiration of the statute of limitations to dismiss claims. CERCLA provides a way for claims to be made when injuries are discovered, not when contaminants are released.
- Libby, Montana, was the site of the largest vermiculite mine in the world, providing the source for many asbestos-related products.lone mountain montana image by Red Tack Arts from Fotolia.com
For criminal prosecutions, such as the federal criminal trial against W.R. Grace, the owner of the Libby, Montana vermiculite (i.e., asbestos) mine, no time limit is set for prosecution. The no limit applies to felonies of deliberate, mitigated or negligent homicide, or when the offender is "not usually or publicly a resident of the state." However, the W.R. Grace executives were prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice, not the state of Montana, which is cited in the statute.
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