| (a) State trustee authority. The state trustees may enter into agreements with responsible persons for the assessment of damages and for the restoration, rehabilitation, replacement and/or acquisition of the equivalent of injured natural resources. State trustees may invite federal trustees to join in a negotiated assessment. (b) Responsible person request. After receiving a notice of intent to perform an assessment, a responsible person may submit to the lead administrative trustee a request to participate in a negotiated assessment/restoration. The responsible person shall make a timely request in writing. (c) State trustee response. The state trustees must make a timely response to the responsible person's request for negotiated assessment. If they reject the request, the state trustees must specify the reason(s) for rejection unless the request has not been made in accordance with subsection (b) of this section. (d) Termination of negotiated assessment/restoration. At any time during a negotiated assessment, either the responsible person or the state trustees may decide to terminate the agreement. The state trustees and the responsible person shall each prepare a written statement of the factual basis for terminating the agreement and this statement will be included in the assessment record. |
