Restoring Our Resources

Thank you to the active citizens who submitted restoration project proposals. We appreciate your interest in this process.

Restoration is the goal of NRDA. It is an active component of damage assessment that can be seen and felt for generations. Through work performed to date, the Trustees have preliminarily identified categories of restoration activities, along with a number of resource restoration ideas.

The project ideas submitted by friends and neighbors along the Hudson River since May of 2000 helped the Trustees identify new restoration options for the river. We are extremely grateful for the value that an informed and involved public brings to the process and to our decision-making.

The Trustees continue to invite the public to submit restoration project proposals.

Submit a Restoration Project Proposal (pdf)

In a Natural Resource Damage Assessment, Trustees use scientific studies to measure the ways hazardous substances injure natural resources. The conclusions of these NRDA studies will guide the Trustees in selecting a final list of restoration projects to address natural resource injuries and the public's lost use of these resources.

Trustees have identified a number of resource restoration ideas that will be part of the group of potential restoration projects considered during future planning efforts. Restoration project proposals that have been submitted by the public in response to past solicitations from the Trustees have been added to this group.

Criteria for Project Assessment

After the damage assessment is complete, the Trustees will review the list of potential restoration projects, assessing the projects using criteria including, but not limited to,

• Relevance- Is there a sufficient connection between natural resource injuries and losses to the public due to PCB contamination and the proposed restoration effort?

• Legality- Is the project barred by law?

• Efficacy- How likely is it that the restoration project will be successful?

• Cost Reasonableness- What is the cost of the proposed restoration effort? Can the benefits be quantified? Is there an opportunity to share costs with other organizations and/or agencies? Are the costs reasonable in the context of the anticipated restoration benefits?

• Ecological Leverage- Will the restoration project promote other environmental benefits?

• Existing Plans- Does the restoration project address or build upon existing federal, state, or local management plans?

The Trustees anticipate sharing this information with you, the public, in meetings or other presentations, and soliciting your views on this information. The Trustees will propose a list of potential restoration projects that will offset the public's loss, and those projects will be incorporated into a Draft Restoration Plan that will be released to the public for review and comment.

Timing of Project Selection

The Trustees have not established a schedule for selecting restoration projects because of uncertainties surrounding the time needed to complete the injury analysis, evaluate restoration options and projects against the injuries to be restored, and resolve the damage claim. Our goal remains to begin restoration as soon as possible after the damage claim is resolved. Prompt restoration will bring back the Hudson River’s lost natural resource services and values as soon as possible.