Indian Creek NRDA and Restoration
State, federal and tribal trustee agencies work cooperatively with local governments, local organizations, and the responsible party to assess ecological injuries and human use losses caused by spills. The goal of this process, known as Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA), is to restore natural resources harmed by oil and hazardous materials spills. It is a formal legal process run by a Trustee Council that includes representatives of Tribes and federal and state agencies. For the 2025 tanker spill, PetroCard is working cooperatively with the trustees to assess the injuries and fund the necessary restoration.
Through a science-based consensus process, the Trustees assess the impacts of the spill. Then, the Trustees design and adopt a restoration plan. The projects within the restoration plan compensate the public for the lost natural resources due to impacts from the spill. This is one of many NRDA cases across the country.
More about the Indian Creek Fuel Spill and NRDA
Indian Creek trustees. 
How NRDA works
The NRDA process uses scientific methods to evaluate impacts to natural resources from releases of oil and other hazardous substances. It also determines what activities will:
- Restore, replace, or acquire the equivalent of the natural resources injured.
- Compensate the public for the loss of the injured natural resources.
Compensation can be in the form of restoration projects performed by person responsible for the natural resource injuries. The responsible party can also pay monetary damages to the Trustees to be used for restoration projects.
Governmental bodies that hold natural resources in trust for the public, also known as natural resource Trustees, can conduct a NRDA. Federal laws, such as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), and the Oil Pollution Act (OPA), and other state laws, such as the Chapter 90.48 RCW (Water Pollution Control), authorize Trustees to perform a NRDA.
A Trustee Council guides the process
In March 2026, federal, state, and Tribal entities with natural resource trust authority in the spill site formed the Indian Creek Trustee Council. The Indian Creek Natural Resource Trustees are:
- Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe
- Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe
- Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- National Park Service (NPS)
- U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service (US-FWS)
- Washignton State Department of Ecology
The Trustee Council Memorandum of Agreement describes the procedures governing the Trustee Council.
Related links
Contact information
Geoff Baran
NRDA Lead
Geoff.Baran@ecy.wa.gov
360-790-9725