Natural Resource Damages

The purpose of this web site is to provide information about Natural Resource Damages (NRD) and the roles and responsibilities of EPA and the Natural Resource Trustees. This web site is intended to assist EPA staff in meeting their statutory obligation to notify and coordinate fully with Trustees.

Damages are recoverable at sites where injuries to natural resources have occurred as a result of releases of hazardous substances or oil or as a result of natural resource injury related to implementation of a response action. EPA's NRD responsibilities during Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) actions center around notification of and coordination with Natural Resource Trustees. Accordingly, EPA's NRD related activities are aimed at achieving the following three goals:

• To provide Trustees the information needed to meet their legal obligations for action;
• To share information to better protect human health and the environment; and
• To reduce the time for settlement of all liabilities.

EPA encourages participation by all affected Trustees. This participation is encouraged at every stage in the CERCLA and the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) processes. Notification is not only important for compliance with statutory requirements, but is also necessary to keep Trustees informed so that all liabilities can be resolved in a timely manner.

NRD assessment and claims information is not managed by EPA.  If you are interested in NRD related information on a site, contact NRD federal, State, or Tribal Trustees to obtain the latest information.  For example, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) maintains a website that shows sites where NOAA is pursuing the restoration of natural resources (see:  https://www.darrp.noaa.gov).  The Superfund Site Search Tool is a good way to identify sites in an area.  Once you have identified sites then information on the sites could be obtained from NRD Trustee agencies.