The court held that because the defendants were engaged in an extrahazard- 

 ous activity, the production of a dangerous pesticide, they would be held 

 strictly liable for harm resulting from their operations. Thus, even where 

 defendants are not actively negligent, they can be held criminally liable for 

 harm to migratory birds. This rationale also is applicable to those who deal 

 with oil and hazardous substances. These individuals can be criminally prose- 

 cuted for any spill that kills protected birds. 



It is highly likely that this will hold true for other protected species, 

 such as endangered or threatened species or marine mammals, as well as migra- 

 tory birds. For instance, the Endangered Species Act clearly is intended to 

 cover negligent takings. An oil spill which degrades an environment used by 

 endangered species would be a violation of the Act if this degradation had 

 the effect of disrupting the species' breeding, feeding, or sheltering. Thus, 

 if the spill did not directly harm an animal, even if the animal were in 

 another area of the country at the time of the spill, the spiller could be 

 liable if the animal eventually were affected by the harm to the spill area. 



CONCLUSION 



To conclude, I would like to reiterate that the Federal Water Pollution 

 Control Act, the Refuse Act, maritime tort law, and the common law of nuisance 

 are all potential tools to force spillers to pay for the harm they cause. 

 The civil and criminal penalty sections of the Water Pollution Act, the Migra- 

 tory Bird Treaty Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Bald Eagle Act, and the 

 Marine Mammal Protection Act are tools that can be used to punish spillers 

 and perhaps deter them. DOI has both the authority and the responsibility to 

 use these tools, for Congress has explicitly declared it as trustee of the 

 natural resources formed in lands which DOI manages. Although new legal 

 ground is being broken with our claims for damages to natural resources, DOI's 

 authority is clear. DOI has the power to make spilling of oil and hazardous 

 substances on Federal lands a costly error, so users will perhaps be more 

 careful. When spills occur, DOI has the power to do as much as is physically 

 possible to ensure that these resources are restored. 



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