Special Series

Ecological Risk Assessment and Natural Resource Damage Assessment: Synthesis of Assessment Procedures†

  1. William Gala1,*,
  2. Joshua Lipton2,
  3. Phil Cernera3,
  4. Thomas Ginn4,
  5. Robert Haddad5,
  6. Miranda Henning6,
  7. Kathryn Jahn7,
  8. Wayne Landis8,
  9. Eugene Mancini9,
  10. James Nicoll10,
  11. Vicky Peters11,
  12. Jennifer Peterson12

Article first published online: 6 JAN 2010

DOI: 10.1897/IEAM_2009-011.1

Issue

Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management

Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management

Volume 5, Issue 4, pages 515–522, October 2009

Additional Information

How to Cite

Gala, W., Lipton, J., Cernera, P., Ginn, T., Haddad, R., Henning, M., Jahn, K., Landis, W., Mancini, E., Nicoll, J., Peters, V. and Peterson, J. (2009), Ecological Risk Assessment and Natural Resource Damage Assessment: Synthesis of Assessment Procedures. Integr Environ Assess Manag, 5: 515–522. doi: 10.1897/IEAM_2009-011.1

Author Information

  1. 1

    Chevron Energy Technology Company, Richmond, California, USA

  2. 2

    Stratus Consulting, Boulder, Colorado, USA

  3. 3

    Coeur d'Alene Tribe, Plummer, Idaho, USA

  4. 4

    Exponent, Sedona, Arizona, USA

  5. 5

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA

  6. 6

    ENVIRON International Corp., Portland, Maine, USA

  7. 7

    US Fish and Wildlife Service, Cortland, New York

  8. 8

    Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington, USA

  9. 9

    E. R. Mancini and Associates, Camarillo, California, USA

  10. 10

    US Department of Justice (retired), Seattle, Washington

  11. 11

    Colorado Department of Law, Denver, Colorado, USA

  12. 12

    Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Portland, Oregon, USA

*Chevron Energy Technology Company, Richmond, California, USA

  1. †

    Published on the Web 6/22/2009.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 6 JAN 2010
  2. Article first published online: 6 JAN 2010
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 17 JUN 2009
  4. Manuscript Received: 23 JAN 2009

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Keywords:

  • Ecological risk assessment;
  • Natural resource damage assessment;
  • CERCLA;
  • Assessment endpoints Hazard quotient

Abstract

The Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) convened an invited workshop (August 2008) to address coordination between ecological risk assessment (ERA) and natural resource damage assessment (NRDA). Although ERA and NRDA activities are performed under a number of statutory and regulatory authorities, the primary focus of the workshop was on ERA and NRDA as currently practiced in the United States under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). This paper presents the findings and conclusions of the Synthesis Work Group, 1 of 3 work groups convened at the workshop. The Synthesis Work Group concluded that the different programmatic objectives and legal requirements of the 2 processes preclude development of a single, integrated ERA/NRDA process. However, although institutional and programmatic impediments exist to integration of the 2 processes, parties are capitalizing on opportunities to coordinate technical and scientific elements of the assessments at a number of locations. Although it is important to recognize and preserve the distinctions between ERA and NRDA, opportunities for data sharing exist, particularly for the characterization of environmental exposures and derivation ofecotoxicological information. Thus, effective coordination is not precluded by the underlying science. Rather, willing participants, accommodating schedules, and recognition of potential efficiencies associated with shared data collection can lead to enhanced coordination and consistency between ERA and NRDA.

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