In July, the federal appeals court in Washington, DC ruled against the Department of Interior when it invalidated its formula for determining the value which polluters had to pay for damaged resources.
In a wide ranging decision, the unanimous court held that Interior's formula that set the value at the cost of restoration or the market value of the resource, which ever was less, was invalid and that spillers should generally pay the full cost of restoring the environment.
The company most immediately effected will be Exxon Corp. which will undoubtedly face significantly higher costs to clean up those portions of Alaska effected by the EXXON VALDEZ oil spill.
The court said, "Congress established a distinct preference for restoration cost as a measure of recovery in natural resource damage."
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