To evaluate the impact of the oil spill, the State and Federal Trustee agencies conducted a Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA), a legal process in which scientists work to identify potential injuries to natural resources and lost public uses resulting from the spill. Through the NRDA process, NOAA and its co-Trustees conducted studies to identify the extent of resource injuries, the best methods for restoring those resources, and the amount of restoration required to offset the injuries. Under the Oil Pollution Act, the cost of these restoration projects serves as the basis of a legal claim that ensures the Responsible Parties (RPs) pay for injuries caused by the oil spill.
The Trustees have cooperatively prepared a Draft Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan (DARP) for public review and comment. This document describes the injuries resulting from the spill and the restoration projects intended to compensate the public for those injuries. The spill affected wildlife (primarily birds and fish), habitat (primarily rocky intertidal, salt marsh, mudflat, sandy beach, and eelgrass habitats), and human recreational activities.
What was injured?
The spill caused significant impacts to wildlife, habitats, and human recreational uses.
- Birds: 6,849 birds were estimated killed, representing 65 different species. The
primary species impacted were diving ducks, grebes, cormorants, and murres.
Special status species impacted included Marbled Murrelet and Snowy Plover.
- Fish: An estimated 14 to 29% of the winter 2007-8 herring spawn was lost due to
widespread egg mortality in some areas of the Bay.
- Shoreline Habitats: An estimated 3,367 acres of shoreline habitat were impacted, and
recovery is expected to vary from a few months to several years, depending upon
the habitat type and degree of oiling.
- Human Uses: An estimated 1,079,900 user-days were lost, representing a wide variety of
activities (recreational fishing, general beach use, surfing, etc.).
