COOPERATIVE NATURAL RESOURCES DAMAGE ASSESSMENT AND RESTORATION WORKSHOP: WORKING TOGETHER TO RESTORE INJURED NATURAL RESOURCES

Abstract

ABSTRACT When natural resources and their services are injured by hazardous substances or oil, how can affected stakeholders expeditiously and effectively restore these resources and services? How can the damage assessment and restoration process be streamlined? What does it take to bring affected interests to the table—and keep them at the table—to resolve liabilities and ensure development of a common restoration vision? These questions and more were the focus of a workshop on Cooperative Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration held on June 9 and 10, 2004, in San Diego, California. The workshop included participants from federal and state government, industry, American Indian tribes, and environmental groups. Workshop planners included the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials, the American Petroleum Institute American Chemistry Council, the Environmental Law Institute, the Center for Public Environmental Oversight, and Scenic Hudson. This paper and presentation presents innovative and creative ideas and solutions discussed at the workshop that may serve to facilitate and further promote the cooperative damage assessment process.