Anacostia River Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration

 

Map of the Anacostia River and adjacent lands labeled as Potential Environmental Cleanup Sites.

Anacostia River Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Overview

This case addresses natural resource injuries that have occurred due to the release of hazardous substances, including but not limited to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), to the tidal Anacostia River, including Kingman Lake, the Washington Channel, and adjacent tributary, tidal, terrestrial and upland habitat, including groundwater, associated with potential environmental cleanup sites.

Federal and state Trustee agencies (the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the Government of the District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment) are studying the adverse effects of the contaminants in the Anacostia River through a process known as Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR), pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. Ch. 103, and/or applicable District law.

The Trustees have the authority to assess injuries to natural resources and their services in the tidal Anacostia River and its ecosystem and determine how much restoration is necessary to address this harm. Services provided by natural resources include ecosystem-based services, such as food and shelter for wildlife species, and human-based services, such as fishing, hiking, birding, and other activities.

Current Phase and Next Steps

The Anacostia River Trustees are currently in the Assessment phase of the case. This phase includes injury determination, injury quantification, restoration scaling, and damage determination. Damages are measured in terms of the cost of restoration, rehabilitation, replacement, and/or acquisition of the equivalent of the injured resources and their services. Damages also include the Trustees’ assessment costs and the Trustees’ costs associated with restoration planning and implementation. Restoration may be implemented by the potentially responsible parties or by the Trustees with settlement funds received from the potentially responsible parties.

Administrative Record

Publicly available documents and materials that the Trustees rely on or consider in the decision-making process for NRDAR are provided via the administrative record. Materials are added on an ongoing basis.

 

Trustee Contact Information

 

Gretchen Mikeska, Anacostia Coordinator
Email: [e-mail]
Office of the Director
Department of Energy and Environment, Government of the District of Columbia

 

Christina Kravitz, Damage Assessment Case Officer
Email: [e-mail]
Natural Resource Stewardship and Science, Environmental Quality Division, Resource Protection Branch
National Park Service, Department of the Interior

 

Raquel Wetzell, Fish and Wildlife Biologist
Email: [e-mail]
Chesapeake Bay Field Office
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior

 

Dan Takaki, Environmental Scientist
Email: [e-mail]
Office of Response and Restoration, Silver Spring, MD
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

 

Related and Useful Websites

• Website for public comments on the Draft Damage Assessment Plan

  • UPDATE (July 27, 2023): The deadline to submit comments has been extended to September 16, 2023.
• DOEE’s Anacostia River NRDAR Website
• NOAA’s Anacostia River NRDAR Website
• DOEE’s Home Page for the Anacostia River Corridor Remediation and Restoration
• DOEE’s Administrative Record for the Anacostia River Sediment Project
• NPS Anacostia Park Home Page
• NPS Anacostia Park Environmental Cleanup Projects
• DOI’s NRDAR Home Page
• DOI NRDAR Primer

 

 

NPS Photo