614
Opinion of the Court
which we will refer to as "punitive," imposed to punish past violations of those statutes or state laws supplanting them.
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio held that both statutes waived federal sovereign immunity from punitive fines, by both their federal-facilities and citizen-suit sections. 689 F. Supp. 760 (1988). A divided panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed in part, holding that Congress had waived immunity from punitive fines in the CWA's federal-facilities section and RCRA's citizen-suit section, but not in RCRA's federal-facilities section. 904 F. 2d 1058 (1990).6 Judge Guy dissented, concluding that neither the CWA's federal-facilities section nor RCRA's citizen-suit section sufficed to provide the waiver at issue. Id., at 1065-1069.
In No. 90-1341, DOE petitioned for review insofar as the Sixth Circuit found any waiver of immunity from punitive fines, while in No. 90-1517, Ohio cross-petitioned on the holding that RCRA's federal-facilities section failed to effect such a waiver.7 We consolidated the two petitions and granted certiorari, 500 U. S. 951 (1991).8
6 The court held that its ruling on the CWA's federal-facilities section obviated any need to consider that statute's citizen-suit section. 904 F. 2d, at 1062.
7 Ohio's petition also asked that if we reversed the lower court's conclusion on the CWA's federal-facilities section, we consider whether that statute's citizen-suit section contained a waiver, an issue the Sixth Circuit declined to reach.
8 The Sixth Circuit's holding that the CWA's federal-facilities section waives federal sovereign immunity from punitive fines conflicts with the Ninth Circuit's conclusion that that section does not constitute such a waiver. See California v. Department of Navy, 845 F. 2d 222 (1988). One Court of Appeals has found such a waiver in the CWA's citizen-suit section. See Sierra Club v. Lujan, 931 F. 2d 1421 (CA10 1991). Two other Courts of Appeals agree with the Sixth Circuit that RCRA's federal-facilities section does not waive federal sovereign immunity from punitive fines. See Mitzelfelt v. Department of Air Force, 903 F. 2d 1293 (CA10 1990); United States v. Washington, 872 F. 2d 874 (CA9 1989). No other
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