Damage Assessment, Remediation And Restoration Program (DARRP) Factsheet

Protecting and restoring natural resources and Tthe local economies that depend on them housands of oil spills and hazard-ous waste sites contaminate our For 23 years, DARRP has worked cooperatively with federal nation’s coasts. Some of their and state agencies, tribes, industry, and communities. effects are immediate and clearly DARRP has protected natural resources at more than 500 visible, such as oiled shorelines, waste sites and 50 oil spills, generating more than $610 mil-dead wildlife, closed fisheries, lion to open over 47 miles of streams and to create, restore and lost recreation. Others, such as declines and protect almost 15,000 acres of habitat, including: in wildlife reproduction or contaminated sedi- • Freshwater wetlands and saltwater marshes ments causing tumors in fish, are less obvious • Oyster reefs and other shellfish habitat and require expertise and time to properly evalu- • Coral and seagrass beds ate. Cleaning up contaminants released into the • Waterfowl habitat environment, assessing impacts, and restoring • Species recovery and monitoring programs injured resources are best achieved through a • Provide improved recreational opportunities cooperative, integrated approach. From injury to restoration, NOAA is there NOAA’s Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration 5. Work cooperatively with responsible parties or pursue Program (DARRP) collaborates with other agencies, industry, other strategies to resolve natural resource liability; and and citizens to protect coastal and marine resources, respond 6. Implement projects to restore injured NOAA trust to pollution incidents, assess risk and injuries, and restore resources and associated services. those resources when injured. After an oil spill or hazardous substance release, NOAA’s team of scientists, economists, restoration experts, and attorneys— Working Cooperatively NOAA’s DARRP encourages responsible parties to participate 1. Act on-site during an emergency to collect data used to in cooperative damage assessment and restoration planning assist with cleanup and assess risk and injury to NOAA activities. By focusing on restoration early in the process, trust resources; NOAA integrates risk and injury assessments with cleanup 2. Ensure adequate protection of and evaluation of risk to and restoration planning. This offers industry a practical and NOAA trust resources during cleanup or remediation by cost-effective way to resolve liability. In addition to working coordinating with and advising cleanup agencies, includ- cooperatively with responsible parties at oil spills and hazard-ing the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Environmental ous waste sites, DARRP regularly convenes industry, govern-Protection Agency, to assure long-term protection of ment, NGOs, and other stakeholder groups to identify meth-natural resources; ods for improving assessments and cleanups, reducing costs, 3. Determine the extent and magnitude of environmental and restoring resources more quickly and more effectively. injuries and lost services; Through such innovative partnerships, NOAA is reversing the effects of coastal contamination and ensuring that the environ-4. Define the type and scope of restoration best suited to ment is protected and restored. address these injuries and lost services; DARRP - Protecting and restoring natural resources nationwide Snapshots of Success?LAVACA BAY, TEXAS PATUXENT RIVER, MARYLAND?Since 1948, Alcoa has operated a manufacturing facil- In April 2000, a Potomac Electric Power Company ity on the eastern shore of Lavaca Bay, Point Comfort, (PEPCO) oil pipeline ruptured beneath a marsh on a Texas. This facility released mercury into the water, contami- Maryland tributary. Roughly 140,000 gallons of heavy fuel nating bay sediments, fish and shellfish. In 1986, state health oil flowed over the marsh and down the Patuxent River, oiling officials closed part of the bay to fishing to prevent consump- about 40 miles of environmentally sensitive creeks and shore-tion of contaminated seafood. NOAA, the U.S. Department of lines. the Interior, and Texas (the Trustees for this incident) worked Working together, NOAA, PEPCO, and co-Trustees assessed cooperatively with Alcoa and EPA to collect data on resources the injured natural resources. The spill impacted wetlands and injured and ongoing ecological risks from the contamination. shorelines, birds, fish and shellfish, turtles, and benthic com-This was completed during EPA’s Remedial Investigation and munities, as well as residents who were unable to boat, canoe, Risk Assessment to develop clean-up plans for the site. As a or kayak. Again, citizen input helped select the restoration result of this cooperation, remediation (clean-up) and restoration projects that are currently being implemented— planning were combined, saving time and money. Trustees included local citizen input when developing restora- ? Create an intertidal wetland tion plans for all identified resource losses, including projects ? Enhance beach shoreline that would best address recreational fishing losses. Under ? Restore and protect migratory bird nesting habitat a settlement with the Trustees, Alcoa has implemented the ? Create an oyster sanctuary following restoration projects— ? Build canoe/kayak paddle-in campsites ? Created an oyster reef ? Rebuild a boardwalk ? Restored a large tract of marsh ? Provide canoes for an education program ? Built or improved several recreational fishing piers and ? Establish new boat access (including a disabled acces-boat ramps sible launch) and improve an existing boat launch ramp In both of these cases, the cooperative approach resolved the responsible party’s liability, yielded restoration projects that met both resource needs and community concerns, and fostered greater trust among the natural resource agencies, the responsible party, and the local community. Environmental Laws Addressing Contamination Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA/Superfund) and the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) Under these statutes, two types of liability are assigned for releases of oil or hazardous substances: responsibility for cleanup of the environment (which is overseen by the lead cleanup agency) and responsibility for addressing injury to natural resources (which is overseen by natural resource trustees). Natural resource trustees include tribal govern-ments as well as state and federal agencies. As a natural resource trustee, NOAA acts on behalf of the public to pro-tect and restore coastal and marine resources and their services. Natural resources include fish, plants, birds, other wildlife and their habitats, soil, and both surface and groundwater. www.darrp.noaa.gov U.S. Department of Commerce • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration January 2012