The mission of the
Trust for Land Restoration is to promote the restoration and enhancement
of habitat of environmentally significant lands degraded by mining.
Throughout the west, some mined lands harbor, or have the potential
to harbor, important habitat conservation values. These values can only
be restored and protected if land trusts and other conservation organizations
can adequately evaluate and manage associated liability risks.
Mined lands prioritized
for protection often include environmental hazards. These same mined
lands often fall under the purview of a variety of environmental laws
and regulations administered by federal, state and sometimes local governments.
The Trust for Land Restoration understands that environmental liability
issues are complex, and often include significant legal and scientific
concerns and questions, and that qualified legal and environmental science
expertise must be utilized to evaluate, acquire and manage mined lands.
This Environmental
Liability Management Policy, and the Environmental
Liability Management Practices, is intended to be an outline of
minimum steps necessary for the Trust for Land Restoration to evaluate
and manage risk associated with the acquisition, restoration and conservation
of contaminated sites.
The Trust for Land
Restoration must always recognize that environmental liability management
remains a legally complex task, aspects of which are unique to each
situation, and always require careful evaluation and analysis, with
full participation of legal counsel. We must also remember that these
techniques in no way assure absolute liability protection or eliminate
risk, and that there will be properties which, despite our best efforts,
cannot be acquired or otherwise protected because of circumstances particular
to the property.
We must always be
concerned about liability exposure. It is imperative that each and every
Environmental Liability Management Practice described below is considered
and analyzed for every project TLR considers.
The Trust for Land Restoration
PRACTICE 1: Project
Selection Criteria
The Trust for Land
Restoration will apply a defined process, including written criteria,
for selecting land and conservation easement acquisitions. All transactions
will be consistent with TLR's goals and purposes, and all transactions
will result in some environmental and public benefit.
PRACTICE 2: Extreme
Due Diligence
The Trust for Land
Restoration will obtain a professional, competent and thorough Environmental
Assessment for each transaction, taking appropriate steps to identify
the existence of hazardous or toxic materials affecting the property
and maintain permanent records documenting those steps. The Environmental
Assessment will include an inspection of each property prior to acquisition,
a chain of title review and research regarding current and past uses
on subject property and on neighboring property. TLR will consult with
local, state, and federal governments to evaluate applicable laws, regulations
and policies particular to each proposed acquisition.
PRACTICE 3: Federal
and State Regulatory Review and Approval
The Trust for Land Restoration will obtain professional legal representation
and engage appropriate Federal and State regulatory review of each proposed
transaction. When appropriate, TLR will complete agreements between
the Trust and government regulatory agencies prior to an acquisition.
PRACTICE 4: Full
Disclosure
The Trust for Land
Restoration will fully disclose to all pertinent parties, including
donors, sellers and government regulators, any and all information related
to a particular transaction.
PRACTICE 5: Risk
to Benefit Analysis
The Trust for Land
Restoration will analyze existing or potential problems, prior to completing
an acquisition, and will either take corrective action or make a determination
that the conservation values can nevertheless be restored and protected
and that the benefits outweigh the risks.
PRACTICE 6: Full
Board Consensus
The Trust for Land
Restoration will only complete a transaction after review and with full
consensus of its Board of Trustees.
