Historical Context for Natural Resource Damage Assessment

• Author: Valerie Ann Lee/P.J. Bridgen
• Pages: 7-12

Page 7

Chapter 2

Historical Context for

Natural Resource Damage Assessment

2.1 Introduction

Many thin k of the Exxon Valdez oil spil l on March 24, 1989, as the beginning of natural resource dam-

age (N RD) law and techniques for natural resource da mage a ssessment (NR DA). e Exxon vessel ran

aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska , spilling more than 10 million gallons of oil into

the sea.1 e spill c aptured the attention of the world, with dying birds and sea otters featured on prime-

time news across the globe’s time zones.2 Armies of experts exploded on the litigation scene. Fisheries biolo-

gists, ornithologists, marine mammalogists, toxicologists, oil spill trajectory modelers, and economists, to

name a few, were hired by federal, state, and tribal governments, as well as Ex xon and others, to help with

litigation—for both the criminal and civil actions brought aga inst E xxon. Experts on both sides of the

cases studied the spill’s eects on the environment and tried to place a dollar va lue on the injuries. Taken

with the magnitude of the disaster, Congress quickly passed the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) of 1990 to reform

the patchwork of oil spill laws and address oil spills more comprehensively and coherently.3 e OPA con-

tains strong provisions to make oil transport safer.4 e law also provides government and private plaintis

with powerful tools to recover NRDs for the public- and private-party losses from oil spills.5

In 2010, the world again witnessed a large-scale oil spill that will shape the NRDA process for years to

come. On April 20, 2010, two days before the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, an explosion occurred on

an oshore oil rig called the Deepwater Horizon that wa s operated by BP p.l.c. (formerly known as British

Petroleum) and other companies in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. e incident caused the death

of 11 crew members, and a blowout of the wellhead resulted in the largest accidental oil spill in the world,

spilling nearly ve million barrels of oil into t he Gulf over a six-month period before the well was nal ly

capped.6 e ensuing clea nup and restoration eorts—and multifaceted litigation—have resulted in the

1. Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, Questions and Answers, http://www.evostc.state.ak.us/facts/qanda.cfm (last visited Jan. 14, 2013).

2. Jim Chapman, From Bligh Reef to the Gas Pump, 15 M R. 45 (2000).

3. See S. R. N. 101-94 (1989), reprinted in 1990 U.S.C.C.A.N. 722, 723.

4. See, e.g., Oil Pollution Act of 1990, §4115 (codied at 46 U.S.C. §3703(a) (2001) (establishment of double hull requirement for tank vessels));

OPA, §4117 (creating maritime pollution prevention training program study).

5. As Rep. Walter B. Jones (D-N.C.) stated:

(is bill makes) it easier for victims of oil spills to recover for economic damages, natural resource damages, subsistence loss, and

others. ey can seek reimbursement from the spiller or directly from the $1 billion Federal trust fund. e 1978 Amoco Cadiz spill

o the coast of France was the biggest spill in history to come ashore. e litigation on that spill is still going on after 12 years, and

not one penny in damages has yet been paid. is bill will make sure that doesn’t happen here.

136 C. R. H6934 (daily ed. Aug. 3, 1990) (statement of Rep. Walter B. Jones (D-N.C.).

6. Current government reports estimate that 172 million gallons were discharged, or the equivalent of 4.9 million barrels, N C-

   BP D H O S  O D, R   P 167 (2011), available at http://www.

oilspillcommission.gov/sites/default/les/documents/DEEPWATER_ ReporttothePresident_FINAL.pdf; Joel Achenbach, Oil Spill Dumped

4.9 Million Barrels Into Gulf of Mexico, Latest Measure Shows, W. P, Aug. 3, 2010, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/

article/2010/08/02/AR2010080204695.html.