DAMAGES

Under CERCLA, natural resource "damages" are the amount of money sought by the Federal or State agency acting as trustee as compensation for injury, destruction, or loss of natural resources as set forth in section 107(a) of CERCLA. --43 CFR 11.14(l)

Under OPA [section 1006(d)(1)], the measure of natural resource damages is "(A) the cost of restoring, rehabilitating, replacing, or acquiring the equivalent of, the damaged natural resources; (B) the diminution in value of those natural resources pending restoration; plus (C) the reasonable costs of assessing those damages. The OPA rule references section 1002(b) of OPA, which specifies the damages for which responsible parties are liable. -- 15 CFR 990.30