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NATURAL RESOURCE DAMAGE ASSESSMENT
The NRDA process begins with
spill response. At the time of a spill, our unique combination
of technical expertise, from pre-planning through restoration,
gives our clients the elements needed to make critical operational
decisions in the context of NRDA and restoration concerns. The
need for providing scientific support in planning, response,
and environmental assessment on behalf of the responsible party
has been increasingly recognized by our clients, who include
Protection and Indemnity Clubs (P&I), vessel owners and managers,
spill response organizations, and oil exploration, production
and transport companies.
Implementation of scientific
support during an oil spill response also provides the client
with a critical head start to Natural Resource Damage Assessment.
POLARIS personnel have extensive experience in addressing the
scientific issues surrounding effective countermeasures and cleanup,
habitat prioritization and protection, shoreline assessment and
identification of appropriate cleanup techniques, as well as
third-party claims for affected fisheries, private properties,
tour operators, pleasure boats, beaches, and other tourist attractions.
Natural resource injuries that
remain following response and cleanup actions are subject to
damage assessment and compensation claims from trustees. Current
federal and state statutes and regulations provide authority
to natural resource trustees to recover damages resulting from
injuries to natural resources, which may include restoration
of injured resources. A natural resource damage assessment process,
involving scientific, economic and legal disciplines, is typically
initiated by state and/or federal trustees of the environment
and incorporates technical studies to quantify natural resource
injuries and scale restoration actions. Responsible parties for
oil spill incidents can participate in technical studies or conduct
independent studies in defense of responsible parties. While
POLARIS provides services for a broad spectrum of technical studies
required by our clients, we often identify the scope of work,
a qualified contractor, and provide oversight for the client.
POLARIS personnel have provided
scientific representation for damage claims ranging from simple
to highly complex that require several years to settle. These
natural resource damage claims have been based in marine, estuarine,
freshwater and terrestrial environments and have included natural
resources such as fisheries, birds, marine mammals, wetlands,
coral reefs, aquatic and terrestrial vegetation, sand dunes,
water, sediment, invertebrates, recreational use, and threatened
and endangered species. |
