Natural Resource Damage Assessment
The Premcor Refining Group, Inc.
EI assisted with negotiations between a refining company and the trustees involved in potential natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) for a major oil refinery in Texas. EI developed an injury determination, a restoration plan and a valuation of damage using an ecological risk assessment as a screening technique for injury, and also conducted portions of the injury determination dealing with potential injuries to flora and fauna in the area, including threatened and endangered species. EI collected, evaluated and analyzed existing data for the sites for potential damages and identified areas of critical importance due to their status as wetland habitats used by migrating passerines and shore birds. Contaminants of concern at the site included numerous polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals, including barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury and zinc. The project required review and analysis of over ten thousand samples to determine the portions of the site posing the highest risk to human and ecological health. EI also aided in active negotiations between the refining company and the trustees. Mitigation options included the restoration and donation of refinery wetlands to an adjacent Texas Parks and Wildlife Reserve where the land would be productive habitat for critical flora and fauna of the area. Negotiations resulted in the identification of restoration projects to be conducted by the former site owner/responsible party to repair injuries assumed as part of a streamlined NRDA.
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