In 2025, NOAA’s Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program (DARRP) supported coastal habitat restoration across the country from the West Coast and Hawaiʻi to the Southeast and Northeast. Through pollution settlements, innovative restoration projects, public comment opportunities, project idea submissions, draft restoration plans, and lessons learned, DARRP worked with partners and communities to restore waterways impacted by hazardous waste, oil spills, and ship groundings.

These restoration efforts are made possible through Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) settlements, which fund projects that rebuild robust fisheries, protect endangered species, restore coastal habitats, and expand outdoor recreation. Together, these investments strengthen local communities, support the ocean economy, and advance long-term coastal recovery. To date, DARRP has recovered $10.8 billion to restore fish, wildlife, and habitats harmed by pollution.

Read on to explore our top highlights from 2025:

• $18 Million Recovered from Two Pollution Settlements, one in New Jersey, and one in California 
• Restoration of Polluted Coastal Environments in the Northeast
• Coastal Habitat Restoration Project Submissions for New Jersey's Raritan Bayshore
• Restoration of Polluted Coastal and Offshore Environments in the Southeast
• Innovative Coral Restoration Begins in Hawaiʻi After Ship Grounding
• Ceremony Marks Launch of New Jersey Floodplain Reforestation Project
• Ten Years Later: Refugio Beach Oil Spill Restoration Brings Hope and Healing to California Coast
• General Recycling Project Set to Restore Nearly Three Acres of Fish and Wildlife Habitat on the Lower Duwamish River

Read more stories from 2025, and sign up for the DARRP Coastal Recovery newsletter to stay up to date with what’s happening in your community. To dive deeper, explore our accomplishments by state storymap.