Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA)

Under both OPA and CERCLA, as well as several other authorities, the responsible party is liable for compensating the public for harm/injuries to natural resources. Designated natural resource trustees use a process called NRDA to calculate the damages for resources under their trusteeship. Damages include the cost to restore, rehabilitate, replace, or acquire the equivalent of the damaged resources. Certain activities of NRDA may be conducted simultaneous with the response, however completion of an NRDA may take years and final restoration may take decades.