The 2010 Oil Spill: Natural Resource Damage Assessment Under the Oil Pollution Act -- CRS

This Congressional Research Service Report (R41396), dated September 8, 2010, finds that the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill leaked an estimated 4.1 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, damaging the waters, shores, and marshes, and the fish and wildlife that live there.

The Oil Pollution Act (OPA) establishes a process for assessing the damages to those natural resources and assigning responsibility for restoration to the parties responsible. BP was named the responsible party for the spill. The Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA) process allows Trustees of affected states and the federal government (and Indian tribes and foreign governments, if applicable) to determine the levels of harm and the appropriate remedies.