Does the equivalency analysis of the European Environmental Liability Directive pass a social cost-benefit analysis test?

The Environmental Liability Directive (ELD), which entered into force at the end of April 2007 and affects all the EU countries, provides equivalence procedures to determine the type and amount of remediation required when protected habitats or species, including forests (or water or soil under some given circumstances), are damaged due to occupational activities. An equivalency analysis (EA) begins with the assumption that a damaged environment is restored to its baseline condition through “primary remediation”. If this cannot be done either completely or rapidly, an EA can determine the amount of “complementary” and “compensatory” remediation, respectively. The latter refers to...