The advanced notice of proposed rulemaking signals DOI’s interest in developing faster and more cost-effective methods to quantify natural resource damage claims.
By Kegan A. Brown, Gary P. Gengel, G. Jack Mathews, and Thomas C. Pearce
On January 18, 2023, the US Department of the Interior (DOI) Office of Restoration and Damage Assessment issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the Notice) requesting feedback on possible amendments to the “simplified” natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) regulations for discharges of oil or hazardous substances (known as “Type A” NRDA regulations). DOI proposes to “modernize the Type A process and develop a more flexible and enduring rule” by, among other things, broadening the universe of natural resource damage (NRD) claims that may be subject to Type A procedures.[1] DOI has requested public comments on possible revisions to the Type A NRDA regulations by March 20, 2023.