Superfund, round two: Natural resource damages
- Powell, Goldstein, Frazer and Murphy, Atlanta, GA (United States)
Throughout the US, companies that have been embroiled in confrontation over Superfund enforcement may soon be confronted with another round of Superfund claims. Under the Superfund law designated federal and state agencies may seek to recover damages for injury to, loss of, or destruction of natural resources caused by the release of hazardous substances. Until now, government agencies have focused on the provisions of the act that includes a government agency's right to conduct investigations and cleanups of hazardous-waste sites; its right to require private parties to conduct site cleanups; and its ability to seek to recover all associated costs from the Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) that are liable. Federal and state agencies are displaying a new interest in natural resource damaged (NRD) claims. To win an NRD case, the trustee must prove in court that: the defendant is within a class of liable parties under Cercla; there has been demonstrable injury to, destruction of, or loss of natural resources; the trustee is the legitimate guardian of the damaged resource; the damage or loss resulted from (i.e. was caused by) a release of hazardous substances for which the defendant is liable; and the dollar figures sought as damages and the trustee's assessment costs reflect the true value of the resources. If the trustee fails to prove any of these elements in court, the defendant should not be held liable. Hence, companies structuring an NRD defense should focus on the following seven elements: nature of the action; recoverable damages; nature of the natural resources covered; who may bring an action; resources subject to the action; causation; and calculation of damages.
- OSTI ID:
- 6746178
- Journal Information:
- Chemical Engineering (New York); (United States), Vol. 101:12; ISSN 0009-2460
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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