Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Practice
U.S. Federal Regulations including CERCLA, OPA, RCRA, the CWA and many state level regulations require the assessment of damages for injury to, destruction of or loss of natural resources resulting from releases of petroleum products or hazardous substances into the environment. Natural resources include land, fish, wildlife, biota, air, water, groundwater and drinking water, among others. Natural resource damages are above and beyond those associated with the cleanup and include compensatory costs for injury and damage. WSP Environment & Energy specializes in the assessment, valuation and restoration of natural resources.

Assessment
WSP staff has extensive experience determining the extent of injury to natural resources and subsequent damages. WSP employs visual reconnaissance, sampling of contaminated media and literature review to determine the baseline levels of the services provided by the injured resource in both marine and non-marine environments, as well as determine and quantify injury.

Valuation
Valuation is key to properly quantifying the reduction in the resource's service levels as a result of the contamination. WSP staff calculates the ecological and recreational value and the monetary cost of restoring natural resources to baseline conditions, which include interim lost use.

Restoration
Scientific and economic approaches are employed by WSP experts to seek out options for restoring natural resources back. Restoration can be carried out on the lands where the injury occurred; or, if applicable, at alternate sites that, when restored, provide suitable replacements for the injured or lost resources.

Our Services

• Trustee Negotiations
• Injury Assessment
• Restoration Planning/Implementation
• Emergency Spill Planning/Response
• Field Sampling
• Natural Resource Valuation
• Groundwater Claim Negotiation
• Risk Assessment