The degree of causation that EPA must establish varies by jurisdiction. In the Eighth Circuit, EPA must establish a causal nexus between the release and the incurrence of response costs. See United States v. Dico, Inc., 136 F.3d 572, 578 (8th Cir. 1998) (citing Control Data Corp. v. S.C.S.C. Corp., 53 F.3d 930, 934 (8th Cir. 1995)). But in the Fourth Circuit, EPA must establish only a “minimum causal nexus” that, as one court has observed, is consistent with CERCLA’s broad remedial purpose. See Castaic Lake Water Agency v. Whittaker Corp., 272 F. Supp. 2d 1053, 1066 n.14 (C.D. Cal. 2003) (declining to adopt Dico’s “stricter causation requirement”) (citing United States v. Monsanto, 858 F.2d...
