Article by Lawrence I. Kiern
The twentieth century has witnessed the steady expansion of the scope of environmental damages that can be recovered under federal law. What was once an area of tort law, severely limited in the scope of damages that could be recovered, has grown into an expanding body of law that allows the recovery of most damages and is on the verge of shattering the traditional barriers to the recovery of environmental damages.
Today, maritime and environmental lawyers eagerly await the results of litigation concerning the latest proposals to expand environmental damages. Both the Department of Interior (DOI) and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have issued regulations governing the assessment of natural resource damages (NRD). Most importantly, those regulations would allow compensation for loss of so-called “nonuse” values through the controversial technique of contingent valuation of NRD.
This Article traces the expansion of the federal law of environmental damages as it relates to the maritime arena. It outlines how we have arrived at today's complex of laws by sketching developments in the general maritime law, the common law, and finally, the modern alphabet soup of comprehensive environmental legislation. It also briefly discusses what the future likely holds for the development of the federal law of environmental damages.
About the Author
Lawrence I. Kiern. Captain, U.S. Coast Guard; Deputy Chief, Coast Guard Congressional Affairs. J.D., University of Michigan (1985). Member of the District of Columbia Bar. The views expressed are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Coast Guard or the United States Government.
Citation
72 Tul. L. Rev. 693 (1997)