How does a CERCLA Response Action Differ from Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) and Restoration?
CERCLA directs two types of activities at sites contaminated by hazardous substances: (1) cleanup and (2) NRDA and restoration. EPA is the lead agency, in cooperation with individual States and Tribal governments, to investigate and clean up hazardous waste sites, as part of its response authority. EPA’s goal is to prevent further contamination and clean up sites to levels protective of human health and the environment [CERCLA 104; Executive Order 12580 2(g) (January 23, 1987)]. Natural Resource Trustees have been delegated authority to perform NRDAs and recover costs beyond cleanup to restore or replace natural resources to the conditions that would have existed without the hazardous substance release [CERCLA 107(f)(1); 40 CFR 300.615(c)(3), (4)].
