NATURAL RESOURCE DAMAGE ASSESSMENT OF THE PRESIDENTE RIVERA OIL SPILL, DELAWARE RIVER1

1995 ◽  
Vol 1995 (1) ◽  
pp. 333-338
Author(s):  
Douglas Helton ◽  
Donna Lawson ◽  
Martin McHugh
Keyword(s):  
New Jersey ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Damage Assessment ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Fuel Oil ◽  
Delaware River ◽  
Natural Resource Damage Assessment ◽  
Damage Claim ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Responsible Party

ABSTRACT On June 24, 1989, the Uruguayan merchant marine tanker Presidente Rivera, loaded with 19 million gallons of No. 6 fuel oil, ran aground in the Delaware River near Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, spilling between 200,000 and 300,000 gallons of oil. Currents spread the oil over approximately 29 miles of shoreline in New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania, reaching upstream as far as Little Tinicum Island, a wildlife refuge near Philadelphia, and downstream as far as Reedy Island, south of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. Natural resources under the trusteeship of New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (U.S. Department of Commerce) were affected by the spill, including shoreline parks, fisheries, marshes, birds, and wildlife. Additionally, portions of the river were closed to vessel traffic and nearby creeks were boomed off, preventing access to marinas and boat ramps. After three years of damage assessment, pretrial discovery, and negotiations, the trustees reached a settlement on natural resource damages with the responsible party. This paper discusses the strategy used by the trustees in developing a natural resource damage claim and highlights some of the lessons learned during the assessment and settlement process.

THE GREAT POM-POM CAPER: WASHINGTON'S FIRST COMPENSATION SCHEDULE APPLICATION

1995 ◽  
Vol 1995 (1) ◽  
pp. 359-363
Author(s):  
Paul Heimowitz
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Damage Assessment ◽  
Washington State ◽  
Fuel Oil ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Assessment Committee ◽  
Damage Claim ◽  
Responsible Party

ABSTRACT When the Washington State Oil Spill Compensation Schedule was developed as a shortcut to estimating natural resource damages, the concept was applauded. But how has it worked in reality? The first use of the compensation schedule successfully occurred in April 1993, when the Nosac Forest spilled an estimated 6,260 gallons of intermediate fuel oil into Commencement Bay in Tacoma during a fuel transfer. Within eight months, the P&I club representing the ship paid in full the $122,696 damage claim calculated by the compensation schedule. Although running the compensation schedule formulas is straightforward, determining the input values offers several challenges. Because the compensation schedule generates a $1-$50/gallon figure, spill volume is a key factor. Limited information about the oil transfer—a common problem—complicated efforts to measure the amount spilled from the Nosac Forest and led to much time spent gathering and analyzing recovery data to generate an estimate. Another complication of this case was ranking the toxicity of the product. Good coordination of the unified state Resource Damage Assessment Committee with tribal representatives and the responsible party expedited resolution of the damage claim. Through the Nosac Forest experience, the compensation schedule demonstrated its effectiveness in quantifying damages that might otherwise not be addressed, making restoration funds available relatively quickly. This case also taught some helpful lessons regarding data collection needs and ways the regulation can be improved.

SUCCESSFUL NATURAL RESOURCE DAMAGE CLAIM FOR A COASTAL OIL SPIL1

1989 ◽  
Vol 1989 (1) ◽  
pp. 293-296
Author(s):  
James D. Brown
Keyword(s):  
South Carolina ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Damage Assessment ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Savannah River ◽  
National Wildlife Refuge ◽  
Natural Resource Damage Assessment ◽  
Damage Claims ◽  
Damage Claim ◽  
The U.S

ABSTRACT In September 1987 a consent order was signed providing a damage settlement of $1.2 million to the U.S. government and the States of Georgia and South Carolina for an oil spill at Savannah, Georgia. This settlement, which included funds for injuries to fish and wildlife resources at Savannah National Wildlife Refuge and adjoining areas in the lower Savannah River, was reached through a cooperative natural resource damage assessment using the U.S. Department of the Interior's Natural Resource Damage Assessment Regulations. This paper describes this first and successful implementation of the damage assessment regulations and provides guidance for their future use in support of natural resource damage claims.

THE SCAT COORDINATOR: A LIAISON BETWEEN RESPONSE AND RESTORATION

2001 ◽  
Vol 2001 (2) ◽  
pp. 1027-1030 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred Wehrenberg
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Damage Assessment ◽  
Control Function ◽  
Government Agency ◽  
The Past ◽  
Environmental Recovery ◽  
Natural Resource Damage Assessment ◽  
Response Phase ◽  
Responsible Party

ABSTRACT Over the past decade, the Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Team (SCAT) process has become an integral component during the response phase of an oil spill. SCAT data are used to formulate plans for shoreline cleanup and to provide a basis for determining when to cease operations. The SCAT data and observations are often the only and/or most complete documentation of shoreline impact for the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA). While the response phase and the NRDA may proceed simultaneously, they have different goals and application, and are usually conducted by separate teams. A distinct lack of interaction between response activities and damage assessment-based restoration activities frequently exists, though the data can be collected to satisfy the requirements of both. To bridge this gap, the SCAT Coordinator can integrate an understanding of common objectives during the development of cleanup guidelines, constraints, and endpoints combined with knowledge of the goal of reducing the overall magnitude of resource injury and the time necessary for environmental recovery. As a representative of either the Responsible Party (RP) or a government agency, the SCAT Coordinator also can provide a quality control function, thus ensuring that the data are recorded correctly and are accessible to support the RP in the NRDA.

scholarly journals THE SECOND GENERATION OF NATURAL RESOURCE DAMAGE ASSESSMENTS: LESSONS LEARNED?1

1993 ◽  
Vol 1993 (1) ◽  
pp. 727-731
Author(s):  
Randall B. Luthi ◽  
Linda B. Burlington ◽  
Eli Reinharz ◽  
Sharon K. Shutler
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resources ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Damage Assessment ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Economic Valuation ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
General Counsel ◽  
Natural Resource Damage Assessment

ABSTRACT The Damage Assessment Regulations Team (DART), under the Office of General Counsel of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has centered its efforts on developing natural resource damage assessment regulations for oil pollution in navigable waters. These procedures will likely lower the costs associated with damage assessments, encourage joint cooperative assessments and simplify most assessments. The DART team of NOAA is developing new regulations for the assessment of damages due to injuries related to oil spills under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. These regulations will involve coordination, restoration, and economic valuation. Various methods are currently being developed to assess damages for injuries to natural resources. The proposed means include: compensation tables for spills under 50,000 gallons, Type A model, expedited damage assessment (EDA) procedures, and comprehensive procedures. They are being developed to provide trustees with a choice for assessing natural resource damages for each oil spill.

A COOPERATIVE DAMAGE ASSESSMENT: LESSONS FROM THE GREENHILL SPILL1

1995 ◽  
Vol 1995 (1) ◽  
pp. 355-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Heather Warner Finley ◽  
James G. Hanifen ◽  
Pasquale F. Roscigno ◽  
Karolien Debusschere ◽  
Maura J. Newell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resource ◽  
Damage Assessment ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Success For All ◽  
Oil Well ◽  
Environmental Restoration ◽  
Environmental Response ◽  
Natural Resource Damage Assessment ◽  
Early Success ◽  
The U.S

ABSTRACT Following a September 1992 natural gas and oil well blowout in Timbalier Bay, Louisiana, natural resource trustees took action under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), Clean Water Act (CWA), and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) to restore the natural resources injured by the spill. Trustees appointed by the State of Louisiana and the U.S. Government worked cooperatively with the well owner, Greenhill Petroleum Corporation, in a natural resource damage assessment (NRDA). The resolution of the Greenhill NRDA marks an early success for all parties involved. The process was concluded in December 1993, only 14 months after the spill, when Greenhill and the trustees signed a natural resource restoration agreement. The cooperative assessment and innovative approaches used by the trustees and the well owner resulted in the rapid resolution of the case, rapid environmental restoration, and relatively low assessment costs.

THE INTRUSION OF CRIMINAL LAW ON THE NRDA PROCESS

2001 ◽  
Vol 2001 (2) ◽  
pp. 1143-1146
Author(s):  
Don A. Kane ◽  
Francis J. Gonynor
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resources ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Damage Assessment ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Criminal Investigation ◽  
Natural Resource Damage Assessment ◽  
Protective Orders ◽  
The Common ◽  
Responsible Party

ABSTRACT A primary goal of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) is to make the environment and public whole for injuries to natural resources that result from the discharge of oil. OPA 90 authorizes state and federal natural resource agencies to serve as trustees for natural resources and provides them with the responsibility, through a natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) process, to ensure that injured natural resources are restored. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) promulgated damage assessment regulations, and in an attempt to correct deficiencies and meet OPA 90 mandates, developed a framework intended to promote expeditious restoration. To lessen the common litigious nature of the NRDA process, the regulations encourage active participation by a responsible party in a cooperative assessment of damages. Natural resource trustee agencies also have authority to enforce criminal aspects of other statutes for impacts resulting from an oil spill. However, when agencies initiate a criminal investigation under these statutes for an oil spill, the goals mandated in OPA 90 and set forth in the NOAA regulations can be substantially undermined. There are potential solutions that could, at least partially, resolve this dilemma for the responsible party to a point where participation in the NRDA process would not unduly prejudice its position in a criminal investigation. Such solutions might include written agreements as to communications and transactional use of immunity agreements, stay of proceedings, and protective orders, which singly, or in combination, could prove invaluable in preserving a progressive NRDA process, fully inclusive of the responsible party.

NORTH CAPE OIL SPILL NRDA PROCESS UNDER OPA 1990

1997 ◽  
Vol 1997 (1) ◽  
pp. 851-854
Author(s):  
Frank Csulak ◽  
Douglas Helton ◽  
Carol-Ann Manen ◽  
Norman Meade ◽  
Marguerite Matera
Keyword(s):  
Rhode Island ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Damage Assessment ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Cooperative Approach ◽  
The North ◽  
Natural Resource Damage Assessment

ABSTRACT On January 19, 1996, the tank borge North Cape and the tug Scandia grounded on Moonstone Beach in southern Rhode Island, spilling 828,000 gallons of no. 2 heating oil into Block Island Sound. Just 2 weeks prior to the grounding, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) had published the final natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) rule for the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA). The North Cape oil spill became the first opportunity to implement the new NRDA rules. One of the key provisions of the NRDA rule is the requirement that trustees must invite the responsible parties (RP) to participate in a cooperative assessment of damages. If the trustees and the RP can agree to perform the initial phases of an assessment cooperatively, the chances of achieving a fair settlement and avoiding protracted litigation are expected to be enhanced. The cooperative approach should also reduce overall transaction costs, facilitate settlement, and result in a more rapid implementation of restoration projects. This paper presents an overview of the cooperative natural resource damage assessment process being undertaken by the trustees and the RPs following the North Cape oil spill and highlights some of the lessons learned in conducting a cooperative assessment.

Case Study: Spill of JP5 Fuel at Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, Puerto Rico, into a Basin Mangrove Forest

2001 ◽  
Vol 2001 (1) ◽  
pp. 197-201
Author(s):  
Stephen Lehmann ◽  
Felix Lopez ◽  
Frank Csulak
Keyword(s):  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Damage Assessment ◽  
Mangrove Forest ◽  
Fuel Oil ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Mangrove Environment ◽  
The Face ◽  
The U.S

ABSTRACT The U.S. Roosevelt Roads Naval Station (RRNS) lies near the municipality of Ceiba on the southeastern coast of Puerto Rico. On October 20, 1999, RRNS personnel reported a spill of JP5 fuel oil, which was officially determined to be 112,000 gallons. The oil spilled from a day-tank into a 50-acre basin mangrove forest and then into the northern Ensenada Harbor. Initial spill response activities by the U.S. Navy Construction Battalion (Seabees), including construction and placement of both underflow and culvert dams, were carried out in the face of an approaching hurncane. This damming effort resulted in both positive and negative consequences for the survival of the mangrove forest. In addition to the cleanup activities, the federal trustees—including the U.S. Navy (USN), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)—initiated a natural resource damage assessment (NRDA). The primary objectives of the damage assessment were to identify potential natural resources at risk, determine the horizontal extent of contamination within the basin mangrove, and document exposure and/or injuries to natural resources resulting from the spill. This paper examines the overall effectiveness of the spill response operations, discusses the difficulties in conducting cleanup activities in a basin mangrove environment, and describes coordination efforts between cleanup activities and natural resource response activities.

Selecting a Preferred Restoration Alternative for the Julie N Oil Spill

1999 ◽  
Vol 1999 (1) ◽  
pp. 1089-1092
Author(s):  
Timothy J. Reilly ◽  
Frank Csulak ◽  
Paul Van Cott
Keyword(s):  
Public Participation ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Damage Assessment ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Restoration Planning ◽  
Planning Phase ◽  
Natural Resource Damage Assessment ◽  
Selection Of

ABSTRACT The selection of preferred restoration alternatives during the restoration planning phase of a natural resource damage assessment occurs through the implementation of a multifaceted process. This process requires identifying the nature and extent of resources injured by an oil spill; identifying appropriate restoration alternatives which address the resources injured, scaling the restoration alternatives to quantified injuries and selecting the most appropriate restoration option(s) for implementation with appropriate public participation. The Trustee Council for the Julie N oil spill, occurring in Portland Harbor, Maine, on September 27, 1996, is currently undergoing this process. This paper presents the major activities associated with selecting the preferred restoration options, and offers lessons learned to date, regarding the implementation of this process.

WASHINGTON'S MARINE OIL SPILL COMPENSATION SCHEDULE—SIMPLIFIED RESOURCE DAMAGE ASSESSMENT

1993 ◽  
Vol 1993 (1) ◽  
pp. 705-709 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Geselbracht ◽  
Richard Logan
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Damage Assessment ◽  
Washington State ◽  
Environmental Harm ◽  
The Past ◽  
Natural Resource Damage Assessment ◽  
Administrative Code ◽  
Spilled Oil ◽  
Responsible Party

ABSTRACT The Washington State Preassessment Screening and Oil Spill Compensation Schedule Rule (Chapter 173–183 Washington Administrative Code), which simplifies natural resource damage assessment for many oil spill cases, became effective in May 1992. The approach described in the rule incorporates a number of preconstructed rankings that rate environmental sensitivity and the propensity of spilled oil to cause environmental harm. The rule also provides guidance regarding how damages calculated under the schedule should be reduced to take into account actions taken by the responsible party that reduce environmental injury. To apply the compensation schedule to marine/estuarine spills, the resource trustees need only collect a limited amount of information such as type of product spilled, number of gallons spilled, compensation schedule subregions the spill entered, season of greatest spill impact, percent coverage of habitats affected by the spill, and actions taken by the responsible party. The result of adding a simplified tool to the existing assortment of damage assessment approaches is that resource trustees will now be able to assess damages for most oil spill cases and shift more effort than was possible in the past to resource restoration.

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