Towards more effective environmental risk regulation

The precautionary and prevention principles require that environmental risks should timely and adequately be regulated before potentially harmful activities are undertaken. The system of administrative environmental law provides ample instruments for such regulation. However, scientific uncertainties about environmental risks could complicate the formulation and implementation of effective environmental risk management strategies. This could lead to systemic imperfections and regulatory gaps which, in turn, undermine the system's effectiveness and increase the need for regulatory 'back-ups'. The system of private law is often seen as a potential back-up. In analyzing the complementary effects between both systems and using environmental risks of chemical mining activities in the (deep) subsoil as an example, this article concludes that the actual regulatory effect of tort law should not be overestimated. The complementary role of tort law in regulating environmental risks is mostly limited to the specification and on some occasions enforcement of environmental responsibilities.