Research

Administrative History

The Natural Resource Damages Unit coordinates the Department of Environmental Conservation's role, which is often technical and administrative, in pursuing compensation claims for injuries which happen to natural resources in the course of a spill or release of contaminants into the environment. The Unit seeks to develop cases, identify and assess the value of damages, and design the restoration, enhancement or replacement of damaged natural resources. In most situations, the Department's Division of Environmental Remediation pursues the remediation (i.e., cleanup) of damages while the Natural Resource Damages Unit then concentrates on restoration of the resources back to their original condition.

Several federal and State statutes authorize New York to pursue Natural Resource Damages. The federal laws are the 1980 Superfund Act, the Oil Pollution Act, and the Clean Water Act. The State laws are the Environmental Conservation Law, Navigation Law, and common law. Natural resources are defined to include biological and geologic resources along with air, groundwater and surface water.