On January 12,2004,the U.S.Supreme Court issued an order declining to review an appeals court decision that imposed a large portion of the cost of cleaning up a Superfund toxic waste site on a company that discharged virtually nothing at the site.The decision was a setback for WLF,which in December 2003 filed a brief urging that review be granted.Alcan Aluminum’s discharges at the site were emulsions consisting primarily of water. Alcan got stuck paying much of the cleanup tab because other companies settled with the government, and the appeals court held that Alcan could be held “jointly and severally” liable for all cleanup costs.WLF argued that under the appeals court’s decision,almost everything can be considered a hazardous substance, including rain, milk, and garden soil.WLF argued that the decision could impose enormous new costs on businesses of all sizes,which may now be asked to pay for cleanups of toxic waste sites which they played no role in creating.