Valuing Natural Assets

Superfund legislation has established two types of liability for past and current releases of hazardous substances. The first is associated with cleaning up old and abandoned hazardous waste sites, the second with residual liability arising after cleanup. Damage claims associated with injuries to natural resources are a concern under the second type of liability. Damage awards for injuries to natural resources are intended to maintain a portfolio of natural assets that have been identified as being held in public trust. When injuries to these resources prevent the public from enjoying the services of these resources, provisions allow compensation for the losses incurred from the time any injury starts until settlement is reached. Damages can include monetary compensation for injuries to the resource sustained prior to and during cleanup, as well as compensation for any residual injuries remaining after sites have been cleaned up to meet a human health standard. Contributors to "Valuing Natural Assets" examine the ways in which this procedure changes how the measures are presented, received and defended.
Drawing upon their personal involvement with the process and the research issues it raises - both in providing analyses for defendants or plaintiffs in damage assessment cases and in writing for academic journals - their chapters reflect individual research programmes that temper the rigorous demands of scholarship with the practical realities of litigation.