Natural Resource Damage Assessment

Target Audience:

Personnel from natural resource trustee agencies (federal, state, and tribes) whose responsibilities include evaluating and participating in the Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration process. Due to the legal sensitivity of some cases discussed, this course is not open to the private sector.

Summary and Objectives:

This course emphasizes the NRDAR process for both the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Oil Pollution Act (OPA). It includes practical exercises in online breakout rooms and is intended as a basic-level course. Participants should expect that additional skill building will be needed before they will be prepared to conduct NRDAs independently.

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Outline the basic steps of NRDAR as applied to CERCLA and OPA.
• Describe the role of the trustee council in the NRDAR process.
• Consider perspectives of co-trustees, stakeholders, and the public.
• Describe injury assessment and the quantification of natural resource service losses (damage assessment).
• Conceptually describe what types of restoration are appropriate for NRDAR.