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Compendium of Select Activities Within US/North America

Activities are listed below in the following categories: Comments to Regulatory Proposals and Related Activities; Symposia, Meetings, Seminars; Document Development; Joint Projects via the Industry/Trustee NRDAR Standing Committee; and Other Activities.

Comments to Regulatory Proposals and Related Activities

US Department of the Interior (2008, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2023)

Response to Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking concerning Natural Resource Damage Assessment Regulations, 43 CFR Part 11, March 2023
Response to Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking concerning Natural Resource Damage Assessment Regulations, 43 CFR Part 11, October 2018
Memoranda to Regulatory Reform Officers: Request for Review - The Inter-Relationship Between EPA Policies and Regulations and the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Regulations of the US Department of the Interior (43 CFR Part 11) and NOAA (990 CFR Part 15), 2017
Response to US DOI Questions Concerning its Program Review/Strategic Plan, January 2014
Response to Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Natural Resource Damages for Hazardous Substances), May 2008
Response Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Natural Resource Damages Assessments—Type B Procedures, 43 CFR Part 11, July 1996
Response to Proposed Rule, Natural Resource Damage Assessments, 43 CFR Part 11, December 1994
Response to Proposed Rule, Natural Resource Damage Assessments, 43 CFR Part 11, April 1994
Response Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Natural Resource Damage Assessment, 43 CFR Part 11, May 1994
Response to Proposed Rule; reopening of comment period: Natural Resource Damage Assessment, 43 CFR Part 11, July 1993
Response Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Natural Resource Damage Assessment, 43 CFR Part 11, April 1991

US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (2017)

Memoranda to Regulatory Reform Officers: Request for Review - The Inter-Relationship Between EPA Policies and Regulations and the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Regulations of the US Department of the Interior (43 CFR Part 11) and NOAA (990 CFR Part 15), 2017

US Department of Commerce (DOC)/NOAA (2017)

Memoranda to Regulatory Reform Officers: Request for Review - The Inter-Relationship Between EPA Policies and Regulations and the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Regulations of the US Department of the Interior (43 CFR Part 11) and NOAA (990 CFR Part 15), 2017
Response to Proposed Rule; Amendments, July 2001
Response to Reconsideration of Final Rule; Request for Comments: Natural Resource Damage Assessment, 15 CFR Part 990, February 1998
Response to Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Natural Resource Damage Assessments, 15 CFR Part 990, August 1995
Response to Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Natural Resource Damage Assessments, 15 CFR Part 990, January 1994
Response to Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Extension of Comment Period and Release of Contingent Valuation Methodology Report: Natural Resource Damage Assessments Under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, January 1993

State of New Jersey (2008)

Comments on Draft Natural Resource Damage Assessment Plan, Diamond Alkali Superfund Site, Passaic River, New Jersey, 2008

State of Vermont (2017)

Comments on the State of Vermont's Proposed Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Regulations, 2017

Symposia, Meetings, Seminars

Series of Natural Resources Symposia (1999 - 2023)

November 15. 2023, The George Washington University Law School, Washington, DC: Natural Resources Symposium Redux: Influences, Perspectives, Needs One Year Later
September 15-16, 2022, The George Washington University Law School, Washington, DC: Natural Resources at a Crossroads: How Recent Events Has Affected Natural Resource Law and Policy and Highlighted the Importance of Private/Public Collaborations to Advance Shared Objectives
September 17, 2020 Virtual: Natural Resources at a Crossroads: How 2020 Has Affected Natural Resource Law and Policy and Highlighted the Importance of Private/Public Collaborations to Advance Shared Objectives
September 25 -26, 2018, The George Washington University Law School, Washington, DC: Blueprint for Change: New Approaches and Needed Changes to Managing Natural Resource Risks, Liabilities and Opportunities - A Multi-Stakeholder Symposium Examining the Law and the Science of Current Practice under US Laws and Ways to Enhance Efficiency, Maximize Benefits, Foster Private/Public Partnerships, Support Innovation and More
October 14-15, 2015, Georgetown University, Washington, DC: Natural Resources Symposium: A Multi-Stakeholder Examination of Policies and Practices at the Intersection of Industrial Activities and Natural Resources -- Leveraging Global Synergies and

Lessons Learned

September 30 - October 1, 2013. The George Washington University, Washington DC: Natural Resources Symposium: "Natural Resource Liability and Optimization Game Changers: Economic Efficiency, Risk Trade Offs, Energy Exploration and Biodiversity"

October 25-26, 2011, The George Washington University, Washington, DC: Natural Resource Damages Symposium: "Coming of Age: Time to Set Expectations for Performance, Professional Standards and Best Practices"
October 5-6, 2009, ExxonMobil Corporation, Fairfax, VA: Natural Resource Damages Symposium: "The Next Generation of Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration of Constructs and Tools for Identifying and Managing Priorities and Goals
July 18-19, 2006: ExxonMobil Corporation, Fairfax, VA: Natural Resource Damages (NRD) Symposium - NRD at 25 Wiser or Just Older? Taking Stock and Shaping the Future: Natural Resource Damage Policy and Practice.
November 6-7, 2003, The Intercontinental Willard Hotel, Washington, DC: Annual NRD Symposium for Industry: Industrial Liability for Natural Resource Damages (NRD) under Superfund and Other Environmental Laws
May 2-3, 2001, Chevron Corporation, San Ramon, CA: Annual NRD Symposium for Industry: Industrial Liability for Natural Resource Damages (NRD) under Superfund and Other Environmental Laws.
April 10-11, 2000, The Dupont Country Club, Wilmington, DE: Annual NRD Symposium for Industry: Industrial Liability for Natural Resource Damages (NRD) under Superfund and Other Environmental Laws
April 22, 1999, ExxonMobil Corporation, Houston, TX: NRD Symposium for Industry: Industrial Liability for Natural Resource Damages (NRD)

Continuing Legal Education Seminar with the DC Bar and Federal Bar: Use of Third Party Neutral Approaches in the Context of Natural Resource Damage Assessment under US Laws and Related Cases and Other Environmental Law Contexts (2019)

US State of the Practice Meeting Concerning Natural Resource Damage Assessment, Restoration and Related Issues (2019)

Industry-Only NRDA Practitioner Meetings (2003 - 2018)

Document Development

White Papers and Issue Papers (2005, 2009, 2012, 2016, 2018)

US Department of the Interior NRDA Regulations at 43 CFR Part 11 Recommended Changes for Better Public Policy and Better Outcomes (2018)
Blueprint for the Post-Deepwater Horizon Era: Timely and Cost-Effective Restoration of Natural Resources that works for Everybody, 2016

Best Practices (2013, 2014, 2016, 2022, 2023)

A Best Practice Approach Framework: Coordinating Emergency Response and Restoration (2023)
A Best Practice Approach Framework: Coordinating Remediation and Restoration (2022)
A Best Practice Approach Framework: Climate Change and Natural Resource Damages (2022)
A Best Practice Approach Framework: PFAS and Natural Resource Damages (2022)
A Best Practice Approach for Industrial Companies and Others: Opportunities for Possible Coordination between Emergency Response and Restoration of Natural Resources (Draft), 2016
Goldsmith, Barbara J., et al. Beyond the Headlines: Best Practices to Restore Natural Resources Injured by Long-Term Hazardous Waste Releases, Oil Spills and Transport and Other Accidents, Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report, August 2014
Goldsmith, Barbara, Manual Labor: Building an oil and hazardous waste best practices handbook to facilitate a reasonable, balanced, and predictable natural resource liability practice area means measured and responsible action by government, businesses, and other stakeholders around the country, ELI Environmental Forum, March/April 2013
Stewart, Richard B., Clegg, Roger, and Goldsmith, Barbara J. (eds). Natural Resource Damages: A Legal, Economic and Policy Analysis, Washington, DC: National Legal Center for the Public Interest. 1995

Advisories for Industry (2000, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014)

#1 Establishing Causation of Natural Resource Injury (2000, 2004)
#2 - Defining Baseline (2000, 2004, 2007)
#3 - Streamlining Assessments Using Restoration-Based Approaches to NRDA (2000, 2004, 2007)
#4 - Use/Misuse of Habitat Equivalency Analysis (2000, 2004, 2011)
#5 - The Nexus Between Ecological Risk Assessment and Natural Resource Injury Determinations: Potential Uses and Misuses (2000, 2004)
#6 - Issues in Considering Cooperative Assessments with Trustees (2000, 2004, 2011)
#7 - Settlement of Natural Resource Damages Claims (2000, 2004)
#8 - Damages for Injuries to Groundwater Resources (2000, 2011)
#9 - Incorporating Data Quality Objectives in the NRDA Process (2004)
#10 - Native American Tribes as Trustees Present Novel Issues (2005)
#11 - Use of Alternative Restoration Approaches, including In-Kind and Out-of-Kind Restoration (2012)
#12 - NRD Defenses (2013)
#13 - NRD Early Restoration Credit (2014)
#14 - Framework for Timely Settlement of NRD Claims (2014)
#15 - Covenant Not To Sue and Reservation of Rights Provisions in Natural Resource Damages Settlements (2014)

Case Law (2004, 2014)

Goldsmith, Barbara J., et al., A Decade of Natural Resource Damage Liability: Key Federal Decisions 2004 - 2014, Environmental Law Reporter, October 2014
Thorp, Michael R., and Goldsmith, Barbara J., Handbook of the Law of Natural Resource Damages, Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe LP. (2004)

Sponsorship of Peer Reviewed Articles (2002, 2004, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2023)

Stahl, Ralph, Jr. Ph.D., Jeffrey Martin, Theodroe Tomasi, Ph.D., Barbara J. Goldsmith, If Coordination of Remediation and Restoration Under CERCLA is Such a Good Idea, Why is it Not Practice More Widely? , Journal of Environmental Management, Vol. 340, August 2023
Desvousges, William H., Nicholas Gard, et al., Habitat and Resource Equivalency Analysis: A Critical Assessment, Ecological Economics, Volume 143, 2018
Dunford, Richard A. and William W. Locke, A Framework for Assessing av Groundwater Damages from Contamination, Environmental Claims Journal, Volume 27, Issue 1, February 2015
Boehm, Paul D. and Thomas C. Ginn, The Science of Natural Resource Damage Assessments, Environmental Claims Journal, Volume 25, Issue 3, 2013
Desvousges, William, H., Richard W. Dunford and Thomas C Ginn, The Use of Habitat Equivalency Analysis in Natural Resource Damage Assessments, Ecological Economics, 2004
Barnthouse, Larry and Ralph Stahl, Jr., Quantifying Natural Resource Injuries and Ecological Service Reductions: Challenges and Opportunities, Environmental Management, 2002

Joint Projects via the Industry/Trustee NRD Standing Committee

A description of the Committee can be found HERE.

Cooperative NRDA Guiding Principles and Sample Provisions (2006 - Present)

This document was prepared by the Group in cooperation with federal and state trustees and provides sample provisions and principles that can be used to serve as tools for parties undertaking a cooperative natural resource damage assessment at specific sites. In addition, the Committee is exploring development of "Cooperative Assessment Templates" for hazardous substance sites reflecting both industry and trustee objectives and concerns, with optional bracketed provisions or alternative provisions. The template would not be mandatory and would focus on hazardous substance sites. The intent is to create document that is simpler to use than the current compilation of provisions from various agreements and that is not the product of any one party or agency; reduce transaction costs and time involved in initiating cooperative assessment process; support achievement of key trustee and industry NRDA objectives.

Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration: Key Principles and General Standards Guiding Practice in the United States (2012 - Present)

This document was prepared by the Group in cooperation with federal and state trustees and provides well-established principles reflected in actual natural resource damage assessment and restoration practice aimed at fostering achievement of timely and cost-effective restoration of natural resources. A larger treatment of the matter, published in Bloomberg BNA on August 14, 2014 is also provided here for general information.

Searchable Restoration Project Catalog (2014 - Present)

This database, prepared by the Group in cooperation with federal and state trustee,s provides consolidated and comprehensive information on natural resource restoration projects undertaken in the context of NRD sites, searchable by nearly 20 parameters. An update to this catalog is currently being prepared and will be posted here soon.

Third Party Neutral Approaches in the Context of NRDAs (2016 - Present)

In 2016, the Committee set up a small working group comprised of company and government representatives in late 2016 to explore the use of Third Party Neutral Approaches in the context of natural resource damage assessment and restoration (NRDAR). The working group supports the availability and use of these approaches as a possible additional tool for use in Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) applications, notably where this can be useful in moving a case along and/or successfully moving it to conclusion.

Intergenerational NRDA Issues (2019 - Present)

In Fall 2019 at the Group's Multi-Stakeholder NRD State of the Practice Meeting, the Group convened a panel comprised of a mix of seasoned and newer practitioners in a variety of disciplines from both public and private sectors to exchange views on key issues, lessons learned and that should be relayed to the "next generation" of NRDA practitioners. Rapporteurs provided summary observations of what was discussed to identify specific resources, tools, trainings, etc. that might be developed to catalog the collective experience and knowledge and/or follow up activities (e.g., specialty workshop, joint training, other). The Committee is exploring several recommended next steps for this activity including appropriate discussion forums and training opportunities.

Other Activities

Database (Government Programs, Cases, Other) (Ongoing)

The Database catalogs case and site information under US federal and state laws, as well as other cases and sites in North America pertaining to natural resource-related liability claims. The Database also features detailed information on federal, state, provincial and territorial programs responsible for the implementation and/or administration of natural resource-related policies and regulations (as applicable). The Database also encompasses a wide set of public domain and some grey literature. All information is searchable in multiple fields, thus enabling custom reports to be generated.

Industry/Trustee NRD Standing Committee (1999 - Present)

The Industry/Trustee NRD Standing Committee was established in 1999 to provide a focal point for communications and practice exchange between government and industry on natural resource damage assessment and restoration and related issues. This Committee meets 2-3 times a year and is comprised of a subset of the Group"s members. Also, on an invited basis, the five federal government departments/agencies designated as "natural resource trustees" under US law -- Agriculture, Commerce (NOAA), Defense, Energy, Interior -- and state government and tribal trustees, as well as representatives from the US Environmental Protection Agency, participate in this Committee. The Group has also invited the participation of five major industry associations -- American Chemistry Council, American Petroleum Institute, National Association of Manufactures, National Mining Association and the US Chamber of Commerce.

Outreach/Communications within Industry and Association Collaborations (Ongoing)

The Group communicates with key US-wide and state-specific business and industry association representing various industry sectors, as well as undertakes collaborative initiatives, to continue to educate companies about natural resource liability-related matters and encourage consistency in positions and practice.

Communications with State and Tribal Trustees (Ongoing)

The Group communicates with key State and Tribal Trustees on an ongoing basis to share natural resource-related updates, as well as key Group activities and advance legal, technical and economic best practices.

Practice Exchange Website

The website www.NRDARPracticeExchange.com was developed in 2009 by the Group, in cooperation with US Federal and State Trustees and others, in order to facilitate communication among diverse practitioners working on the NRD and related legal, scientific and economic practice issues.