Natural Resource Recovery by Federal Agencies—A Roadmap to Avoid Losing Causes of Action
Editors' Summary: On December 11, 1983, the clock will run out for certain natural resource damage recovery actions under CERCLA. Section 107 of the Act allows state and federal agencies to recover natural resource damages from anyone who is a "responsible party" under the Act. However, much of the attention to date in implementing CERCLA has been on the response, enforcement, and cost recovery provisions of §§104, 106, and 107. In the meantime, a three-year limit on actions for recovery of natural resource damages which were discovered prior to enactment of CERCLA on December 11, 1980, approaches. The author outlines the natural resource damage recovery provisions of CERCLA, analyzes the impact of the timeliness provisions of the Act, and describes the steps taken by the Department of the Army to identify and act on potential natural resource damage claims before expiration of the deadline.