Summary and analysis of state and selected foreign procedures for determining the costs of natural resource damages from releases of oil or hazardous materials

The report summarizes and analyzes the procedures currently used by all 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and selected foreign countries and international organizations to estimate the costs associated with natural resource damages for spills of oil and hazardous substances. The report focuses on simplified damage assessments which, for the purposes of this study, were defined as a set or sets of standardized procedures requiring minimal field observations and providing reasonable, cost-effective methodologies for establishing and quantifying in monetary terms damages to natural resources incurred as a result of a discharge of oil or a release of hazardous substances.