5.6.2 The NOAA Regulations for NRDA

Under the OPA, the President has delegated NRDA responsibilities to the DOC. Within the DOC, NOAA has the NRDA responsibilities, and it issued its NRDA regulations at  15 CFR 990. The OPA NRDA regulations identify a 3-phase process for assessing damages and restoring injured resources: the Preassessment Phase, the Restoration Planning Phase, and the Restoration Implementation Phase.

The Preassessment Phase is first conducted to determine if:

• There is jurisdiction to pursue restoration under OPA on the basis of the nature of the release,
• Resources have been or are likely to be injured from the spill or release,
• Response actions have not or are not expected to address the injuries resulting from the release, and
• Feasible restoration actions exist to address potential injuries.

If the results of the preassessment indicate that there is jurisdiction to pursue restoration, then the Restoration Planning Phase is initiated. This phase includes the determination and quantification of the natural resource injury, development and evaluation of restoration alternatives, and development of restoration plans. Natural resource restoration is then implemented via the Restoration Implementation Phase.