In the extreme circumstances, the policy logic behind the taxpayers providing a backstop to cover this, one, would be to ensure that the individual landowners or the individual citizens or any other parties who might be implicated would not be held financially liable; and two, that the response capability is provided for and the dollars are provided. The act provides that, should the government advance funds to the board to cover these things, it would be cost recovered from industry. Taxpayers would be held harmless, if you will, and ultimately, the industry as a whole would pay for the costs associated with an incident or any damages that might be provided and that, again, taxpayers would be protected.
