By Carol Dinkins

Most natural resource damages (NRD) litigation claims are express statutory creations. NRD causes of action, for example, are expressly authorized under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), and the Clean Water Act (CWA), to provide a means for compensating the public for damages to publicly owned natural resources. Though there are exceptions, the general rule is that any recovery from an NRD claim must be used to restore or replace the damaged natural resource. Read the entire article here.