What is Nrda?
Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) is the legal process that federal agencies like NOAA — together with states and Indian tribes — use to evaluate the impacts of oil spills, hazardous waste sites, and ship groundings on public natural resources along the nation’s coasts and throughout its interior.
Who oversees natural Resource damage assessment?
EPA
EPA is required to notify Trustees of potential injuries to natural resources at sites where releases or threats of releases are under investigation. EPA is also required to coordinate assessments, investigations and planning with Trustees [CERCLA §104(b)(2)].
What is a natural resource damage claim?
A Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) is the process used by natural resource trustees to develop the public’s claim for natural resource damages against the party or parties responsible for a spill and to seek compensation for the harm done to natural resources and services provided by those resources.
How does the EPA relate to natural resources?
EPA is not a Natural Resource Trustee, nor is it authorized to act on behalf of Natural Resource Trustees. Rather, under CERCLA and OPA, EPA shares with the U.S. Coast Guard the general responsibility for investigating and responding to contamination by hazardous substances or oil.
How are natural resources damaged?
What are Natural Resource Damages? When a spill or release of contaminants into the environment results in injuries to natural resources, Natural Resource Damages (NRD) are sought from the party or parties legally responsible in order to restore the injured natural resources and compensate the public.
What is habitat equivalency analysis?
Habitat Equivalency Analysis (HEA) is a means to determine the amount of compensatory restoration required to provide services that are equivalent to the interim loss of natural resource services following injury. The lost services are calculated from the time of injury through the recovery process.
How do we harm natural resources?
Natural resources are not limitless, and the following consequences can arise from the careless and excessive consumption of these resources:
- Deforestation.
- Desertification.
- Extinction of species.
- Forced migration.
- Soil erosion.
- Oil depletion.
- Ozone depletion.
- Greenhouse gas increase.
Why was the EPA founded?
In 1970, in response to the welter of confusing, often ineffective environmental protection laws enacted by states and communities, President Richard Nixon created the EPA to fix national guidelines and to monitor and enforce them.
Why is the EPA important?
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a federal government agency, created by the Nixon Administration, to protect human health and the environment. The EPA creates and enforces environmental laws, inspects the environment, and provides technical support to minimize threats and support recovery planning.
What is the protection of natural resources from damage of pollution?
Earth’s natural resources include air, minerals, plants, soil, water, and wildlife. Conservation is the care and protection of these resources so that they can persist for future generations.
How does our overconsumption affect the environment?
But overconsumption worsens climate breakdown and increases air pollution. It exhausts the planet’s life support systems like the ones that provide us with fresh water, and leaves us short of materials critical to our health and quality of life.