Hudson River Natural Resource Damage Assessment
Hudson River Natural Resource Damage Assessment Links
In coordination with the EPA's Hudson River Reassessment, the Hudson River Natural Resource Trustees - the United States Department of the Interior (DOI), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) - are conducting a Natural Resource Damages Assessment (NRDA) associated with General Electric's PCB contamination of the Hudson River below Hudson Falls.
The process has its origins in the natural resource damages (NRD) provisions of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, also known as CERCLA or the federal Superfund law.
The overall purpose of these NRD provisions is to compensate the public for natural resource losses they have suffered from the release of hazardous substances by restoring the injured resources and by enhancing natural resources and their use by people. Compensation may be in the form of monetary damages or, preferably, in actual restoration projects. The trustees have been and will continue following the Federal Regulations for Natural Resource Damages Assessments (43 CFR Part 11) to guide this process.
For additional offsite information from DEC co-trustees please see the links listed on the right column of this page under links leaving DEC's website.
This page contains links to documents that outline the NRDA process as well as the studies conducted to support the natural resource damage assessment case (Studies of the Assessment) . A complete description of the process can be found in the Hudson River Natural Resource Damage Assessment - Description of Process.
Recent Additions- What's New
PCB Contamination of the Hudson River Ecosystem - Compilation of Contamination Data Through 2008. January 2013 (PDF) (1.44 MB) A summary of available information on PCB contamination in the Hudson River ecosystem, focusing on data collected and analyzed between 2002 and 2008, as part of ongoing NRDA activities.
Floodplain Data Report January 2010 (PDF) (1.7 MB)
Includes PCB Floodplain contaminant data from the following collections:
2001 Small Mammals And American Woodcock, 2000 Floodplain Earthworms and Re-Analysis Of Select 2000 Soils and Small Mammals from the Year 2000
Organochlorine and Metal Contamination of Hudson River Aquatic Insects(PDF) (984 KB)
Surface Water Injury Report 2008 (PDF) (1MB) Injury Determination Report for Hudson River Surface Water Resources
Sediment Fact Sheet 2008, (PDF version, 88 KB) Sediment Toxicity Study for the Hudson River NRDA
Study Plan for Waterfowl Injury Assessment 2008 (PDF) (1.12 MB)
Responsiveness Summary (PDF) (157 KB) Waterfowl Study Plan 2008 Public Responsiveness Summary
The NRDA Process: Screening and Assessment
- Hudson River Natural Resource Damage Assesssment - Description of the Process
- Facts about the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Process for the Hudson River
- Summary of the Hudson River Preassessment Screen
- Frequently Asked Questions about Hudson River Preassessment Screen
- Draft Scope for the Hudson River Natural Resource Damages Assessment Plan
- Response to Public Comments on the Draft Scope for the Hudson River Natural Resource Damages Assessment Plan June 1999
- Summary of the Draft Scope for the Hudson River Natural Resource Damage Assessment Plan
- Response to Public Comments on the Draft Scope for the Hudson River Natural Resource Damage Assessment Plan
- Hudson River Natural Resource Damage Assessment Plan
Fact Sheets
- Fish Toxicity Pilot Study for the Hudson River NRDA May 9, 2009 || (PDF Version - 114.11 kb)
- Fact Sheet: Hudson River Bald Eagle Update || (PDF Version - 394.31 kb)
- Mink Injury Investigations for the Hudson River NRDA 2012-2013 || (PDF Version - 388.36 kb)
- Hudson River Restoration Planning Fact Sheet (HTML)
- Preliminary Investigations for Frogs and Sediments 2004
Preassessment Screen
- Avian Investigations for the Hudson River NRDA 2006
- Preassessment Screen Determination for the Hudson River
Studies of the Assessment
- Assessment Studies
- Preliminary Investigations of PCBs in Hudson River Bats
- Mink Investigations for the Hudson River NRD- Fact Sheet 2006
- Sediment Toxicity Pilot Study for the Hudson River NRDA
- 2001 Status Report Fish Health
- 2007 Amphibian Fact Sheet
- 2002 Fact Sheet - Preliminary Investigations of Bird Injuries
- Waterfowl Investigations 2007-2008
