5.6.1 The DOI Regulations for NRDA

Under CERCLA, the President has delegated NRDA responsibilities to the DOI, which in turn issued its NRDA regulations. These may be found at  43 CFR 11. In following these regulations, Trustees:

• Determine whether injuries may have occurred,
• Collect and evaluate information to determine the nature and extent of injury to natural resources resulting from a release,
• Determine whether and which restoration measures may be necessary to bring the injured resources and services back to baseline conditions, and
• Seek to wholly compensate the public for interim lost use of those resources and services.

The regulations define baseline as the condition of the natural resource and services that would have existed had the spill or release not occurred. Services are defined as the physical and/or biological functions performed by the resource for the benefit of another resource or the public. For example, the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to aquatic biota would be services performed by a river.

The DOI regulations identify a phased approach for conducting NRDAs. First, a Preassessment Screen (PAS) (43 CFR 11 Subpart B) is conducted to provide a preliminary identification of resources potentially at risk from a spill or release. This screen uses existing data to identify potential pathways, potentially affected areas, known or expected contaminant concentrations, and potentially affected resources and to determine whether further assessment is necessary.

If further assessment is indicated by the PAS, then an assessment plan (43 CFR 11 Subpart C) is developed to ensure that the assessment is conducted in a planned, systematic, and cost-effective manner. Next, one of two assessment types is implemented. A Type A assessment (43 CFR 11 Subpart D) is conducted for spills or releases in coastal and marine environments. This assessment is relatively straightforward and uses the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Model for Coastal and Marine Environments (NRDA/CME), which is available from the DOI (http://www.doi.gov)  . For inland environments the Type B assessment (43 CFR 11 Subpart E) is also conducted. This assessment utilizes a range of scientific and economic methods; requires the specific collection of specific physical, chemical, and biological data; and thus is much more expensive and time consuming to conduct.

The last phase of the NRDA process is Post-Assessment (43 CFR 11 Subpart F). For this phase a Restoration and Compensation Determination Plan is developed that identifies alternatives and costs for resource restoration or replacement. A Restoration Plan, based on the Restoration and Compensation Determination Plan, is then prepared to describe how the monies will be used to restore, rehabilitate, replace, and/or acquire equivalent (equal or in-kind) resources. The Navy prefers restoration to compensation.

Note that the Navy would only go through the NRDA process in the event that there was a release or spill onto Navy property by a non-Navy PRP. Under typical IR Program cleanup activities, the RPM should not be conducting any of the NRDA phases.