A Cough in the Water: Revisiting Natural Resource Restoration Under Superfund

December 2005
Citation:
35
ELR 10872
Issue
12
Author
Selena Kyle

Editors' Summary: Under CERCLA's natural resource damage provision, trustees may recover money damages from polluters. While the money is to be used to restore the damaged resources, trustees have flexible spending guidelines which have led to diverting funds to areas unaffected by the immediate release or overspending on administrative costs. This author queries whether the implementation of the provision could be more effective by restricting trustee spending, creating a Superfund-type trust fund, or increasing the public and judicial scrutiny of trustees.

Selena Kyle is a law clerk to the Hon. Susan J. Dlott, U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Ohio. She received her J.D. from Stanford Law School in 2005, and a B.A. from Stanford University in 2000. The author is grateful to Meg Caldwell, Michelle Friedland, Gerald George, John Lyons, Craig Martz, Buzz Thompson, Dan Welsh, and the editorial staff of the Environmental Law Reporter for their input and support. She also thanks the sponsors of the 2005 Olaus and Adolph Murie Award in Environmental Law for their recognition of this research.
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