[CPEO-MEF] Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (KY) lawsuit

[Lenny Siegel <lennysiegel@gmail.com>]

Appeals court clears way for suit over property values near plant

By BRETT BARROUQUERE
Associated Press/Lexington Herald-Leader (KY)
November 2, 2007

A lawsuit alleging that water leaks from a western Kentucky uranium 
enrichment plant devalued property values can go forward after a federal 
appeals court ruled that there were facts in dispute in the case.

The decision, issued Friday by the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in 
Cincinnati, reverses a decision by U.S. District Judge Joseph McKinley, 
who dismissed the 10-year-old suit saying there wasn't enough proof 
enough contamination existed to pose a health hazard.

Judge Avern Cohn, writing for an unanimous three-judge panel, said 
McKinley erred in dismissing the suit because the 16 homeowners who 
brought the case have enough evidence that they were hurt by 
contamination to warrant a jury trial.

"The jury, properly instructed, must decide the outcome," Cohn wrote.

The case stems from a suit filed by 16 homeowners who live near the 
Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, which is about 10 miles west of Paducah 
in western Kentucky. The homeowners sued in 1997, claiming that about 10 
billion gallons of polluted groundwater had damaged 82 pieces of 
property. They also claimed they lost use of their property and suffered 
loss to plants, crops, livestock and wildlife.

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.kentucky.com/471/story/219690.html

--


Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org



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