States may pursue natural resource damage (NRD) claims pursuant
to key federal statutes or, in some cases, pursuant to independent
state authority. Over the years, many states have played a critical
role in the prosecution of NRD claims, either in conjunction with
federal and tribal trustees, or wholly independently.
In 2006, Brian D. Israel, head of the Arnold & Porter
Environmental practice group, published a "State-by-State
Guide to NRD Programs in All 50 States" (the Guide). Since its
initial publication, the Guide has been regularly updated and
expanded to include Puerto Rico. The most recent update was
released this month and includes a detailed description of over 240
major NRD cases from across the country. For this iteration of the
Guide, comprehensive feedback was received and incorporated from
multiple state trustees, 15 new major NRD assessments and
settlements were added, and numerous other NRD matter summaries
were updated since the Guide's last
