LSI 2010 NRD Santa Fe final conference binder 072110.pdf

Michael R. Thorp of Summit Law Group Speaker 19: 6
Origin of Baseline – Regulations
(cont’d)
Baseline also establishes the
restoration objective.
Interior: “Restoration…means actions
undertaken to return an injured
resource to its baseline condition…”
43 CFR 11.14(II).
NOAA: The restoration goal of OPA
“is achieved through the return of the
injured natural resources and services
to baseline…” 15 CFR 990.10.
Very little case law on baseline.
Coeur d’Alene Tribe v. Asarco, 280 F.
Supp. 2d 1094, 1105 (D. Idaho 2003):
Forest fires, channelization and
urbanization have impacted the waterways
and soil, but the largest source of metal
loading in the Basin is from mining waste.
Separating the damage to the environment
from other causes versus the mining waste
will be determined in the second phase of
trial.
Law Seminars International | Natural Resource Damages | 07/16/10 in Santa Fe, NM