THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

 AS A TRUSTEE OF NATURAL RESOURCES 



James D. Webb 



Associate Solicitor, Conservation and Wildlife 



U.S. Department of the Interior 



Washington, D.C. 



INTRODUCTION 



The Federal Government is the largest single landholder in the United 

 States. Over 300 parks and over 300 refuges are managed and protected by the 

 U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI). In addition, other large Federal land- 

 holdings are managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. De- 

 partments of Agriculture and Defense. This means that there is a strong po- 

 tential for a large number of oil spills and hazardous substance spills to 

 occur on or affect areas for which the Federal Government is responsible. 

 These areas include: public lands, Indian reservations, national wildlife 

 refuges, national parks, national forests, and national seashores. Oil and 

 hazardous substance spills can and have damaged a wide variety of esthetic 

 and recreational values and wildlife, including migratory birds, endangered 

 species, and Indian fish resources. The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) alone 

 responded to 350 spills last year, and already has responded to more than that 

 number so far this year. 



The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA), 33 U.S.C. §1321 (f)(5), 

 and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments, 43 U.S.C. §1813(b)(3), 

 make it clear that the United States is responsible "as trustee" for the pro- 

 tection of the natural resources under our jurisdiction. These statutes also 

 give DOI the authority to protect natural resources by suing spillers for 

 damages to these resources, and provide that sums recovered shall be used to 

 "restore, rehabilitate, or acquire the equivalent" of the damaged natural 

 resources. I will discuss this aspect of the law in more detail in a moment. 

 I also will discuss the use of criminal sanctions against spillers who harm 

 federally protected species such as migratory birds or endangered species. 

 Before turning to these subjects, I would like to briefly discuss the United 

 States' rights and duties concerning wildlife in relation to those of the 

 States. 



The United States is presently making its ^jery first claim for damages 

 for harm to wildlife in the Oswego Barge case, although States have made such 

 claims in the past. We expect to succeed in making such claims for federally 

 regulated species such as migratory birds and endangered species. Although 

 several States have sought such damages, no State has yet received damages 

 for harm to migratory birds, although Virginia is presently making such a 

 claim for the 1 February 1976 oil spill in the Chesapeake Bay and may be 

 successful in that case. 



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