LSI 2010 NRD Santa Fe final conference binder 072110.pdf

William H. Desvousges of W. H. Desvousges & Associates Speaker 27: 5
Figure 2: Groundwater Services
FLAWS IN APPROACH
below.
There are several flaws with the Plaintiff’s approach. These are discussed
Natural Resource Services
The Plaintiff’s approach ignores the concept of natural resource services. It
does not describe any actions to investigate whether groundwater services were
affected by the release at the former facility. For example, the Plaintiff’s expert did not
investigate the local water supply to see if the injury could have affected the quantity or
quality of the public water supply. When we contacted the Director of Utilities of the
township, we learned that it is impractical to place drinking water wells in the vicinity of
this facility because of the high naturally occurring iron concentrations (Merk 2009).
Because of the high iron concentrations in the vicinity of the former facility among other
reasons, the township has no plans to drill additional wells in the area. Moreover, the
township has a thirty-year contract to purchase the balance of its water needs from a
regional water supplier, which obtains its water supply from outside of the county.
Furthermore, the Director of Utilities indicated there is no evidence that drinking water
supplies were ever, or will be, impacted by the releases at the former facility.
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Law Seminars International | Natural Resource Damages | 07/16/10 in Santa Fe, NM