In some cases the costs of investigation outweigh the dollars involved.

The firm said it would meet all costs of investigation, further surgical treatment and removal, if needed, for all of them.

Unfortunately, the measure would not preclude the potentially enormous costs of investigations that would be obsolete as soon as the problem is corrected.

They are increasing their attention to fraud, they say, but are limited by the costs of investigations and the threat of lawsuits if they refuse to pay legitimate claims promptly.

For one thing, it could absorb a lot of expert resources and the policy gains might not outweigh the costs of investigation in many cases: it could also encourage rent-seeking behaviour.

The program, a cornerstone of the bond act, pays 75 percent of the costs of investigations and cleanups for eligible site on land owned by cities, counties, towns, villages, schools, public authorities, state-recognized Indian nations or tribes and some local agencies, provided that those owners were not the polluters.