The companies didnt do anything illegal. Why should they be penalized?
Its never legal to poison your neighbors. This is a “common law” standard which underlies our whole legal system. The 7 paper mills dumped their private chemical wastes into our public water supply. This was not an accident, it was a deliberate ongoing choice. They had a responsibility to identify their chemical wastes and understand the health effects of their actions. Many times over the last 45 years citizens publicly protested the mill pollution, but their concerns were ignored by the corporations. Why should these citizens be required now to pay for the cleanup? The corporations have lobbied effectively against specific health and environmental standards. But the lack of specific PCB standards in past years doesnt change the underlying common law standard.
