Less than a month after hearing the case, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Guam in its bid to get the Navy to pay its fair share of the $160-million dollar clean-up of the old Ordot dump.

Attorney General Leevin Camacho describes the decision, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, as a "big day for Guam, and for the people of Guam..."

"But this case is more than just about contributions," he said. "This case is really about justice."

Justice and accountability. GovGuam argued that for decades the Navy, which built and utilized the landfill in what was once the Ordot valley, has not paid a dime for the subsequent toxic clean-up ordered by the U.S. EPA. The justice department had argued that the clock had run out to file for compensation under the law known as the environmental superfund act.

"But the precise legal question was whether or not a Clean Water Act consent decree triggers your time to file a CERCLA claim, and today the court unanimously held that it does not," Camacho said. "We have to accept our own responsibility for what has happened at the dump. There's no doubt about that. But at this point, we have been held 100-percent responsible for all of the clean up costs at Ordot. And the number that's going to be fair is greater than zero. Again, I can't give you an exact percentage but I know it's greater than what's been offered at this point and what's been paid at this point."

The AG's office has begun gathering evidence, which stretches back decades, of how much and what kind of toxic materials the military dumped.

"Part of what we want as an island is just tell us what happened right," Camacho said. "We don't get that all the time. So if we can find out the story of what really happened and get some acknowledgment, some recognition of fault I think that'll just help us to move on as an island."

The next step will be to meet with the justice department and submit a status report to the Washington, D.C. court of appeals within the next 30 days.