Damage assessment is the critical first step taken on the path to achieving restoration of natural resources injured through the release of oil or hazardous substances.  These damage assessments are used to determine the level and extent of injury and the amount of damage caused by the release of oil or hazardous substances.  Once damages are assessed, the U.S. Department of the Interior's (Department) Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Program (Restoration Program) attempts to negotiate a settlement with the parties responsible for the release of oil or hazardous substances for the cost of the restoration, the interim loss of use of the land or natural resource by the public, and the money the Restoration Program spent to assess the damages.  If the Restoration Program is unsuccessful in negotiating a settlement, the Department can then take the responsible parties to court.

The nature and magnitude of the injury must be identified, investigated, and thoroughly understood if the resulting restoration is to be effective. The resulting physical and scientific evidence of natural resource injury then forms the basis for the Department’s claim for appropriate compensation via restoration settlements that allow the Restoration Program to contribute to the Department’s Strategic Plan—Strategic
Goal/Mission Component No. 1, "Resource Protection;" End Outcome Goal No. 2,
"Sustain Biological Communities on DOI Managed and Influenced Lands and Waters in a Manner Consistent With Obligations Regarding the Allocation and Use of Water." Information regarding the nature and magnitude of the injury, and the means by which they are determined, also help establish the goals of the restoration plans and influence the determination of when those goals have been successfully reached.

The Restoration Program funds the damage assessment cases and its current caseload totals 46 active, or ongoing, cases.  The funding for these cases comes from annual appropriations and from funds recovered from responsible parties in earlier settled cases. In fiscal year 2006, $5.3 million was allocated to damage assessment cases— $3.8 million from appropriated funds and $1.5 million from recovered funds.  Trustees (states, Indian Tribes, other Federal agencies, or foreign governments) or potentially responsible parties can also fund assessments.


Examples of Damage Assessment Cases
Lower Fox River/Green Bay, Wisconsin - This case addresses natural resource injuries that have been caused by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from historic discharges of papermill waste.  Refer to this site for points of contact, authorized official representatives, and the reports and determinations for this case.

Hudson River, New York - This case addresses natural resource injuries that have occurred due to the release of hazardous substances (particularly PCBs) to the Hudson River, primarily from General Electric's Hudson Falls and Fort Edward, New York, manufacturing plants.  Refer to this site for points of contact, authorized official representatives, and the reports and determinations for this case.

For more information on these damage assessment cases, as well as for all other Restoration Program damage assessment cases, please refer to the "Program Site Maps" page, which can be found via the link in the Library to the right of this page.