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<br />" <br /> <br />. . <br />However, whether or not the issuance of an easement .causes a significant impact to the . <br />environment, or may be categorically excluded from NEP A, must be determined on a case by case <br />basis. It is possible that the "level ofNEP A analysis" required for determining what, if any, <br />restrictions to impose on a Ditch Bill easement will be minimal. This is particularly true since the <br />grant of the easement itself is mandatory. <br /> <br />There are no express requirements under NEP A or the Council on Environmental Quality's <br />regulations regarding baseline conditions for purposes of analysis under NEP A. Rather, the <br />concept of an "enviromnental baseline" is tied to the requirements under.NEPAto analyze <br />environmental consequences, 40 C.F .R, 9 I 502. I 6, and compare alternatives, 40 CF.R. 91502. I 4. <br />In order to display the enviromnental consequences of the proposed Federal action, those <br />consequ~nces must be compared to some baseline condition. The cOns'equences of the. proposed <br />action,arid the alternatives explored, are measured in terms of the change in the environment that <br />results fromthe Federal action. The "baseline" condition, theref0Te, IS the environmental <br />condition that would existifthere were no Federal action. If there were no Forest Service action <br />to impose terms and conditions on a Ditch Bill easement, the "baseline condition" would be the . <br />existing water diversion and transport facility. <br /> <br />This is consistent with the Forest Service Handbook (FSH) reference to "baseline," which appears <br />in the discussion ofthe "no-action" alternative at FSH 1909.15-92cI-14.r. "The no-action <br />alternative provides a baseline for estimating the effects of other alternatives." <br /> <br />ESA <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. . <br />The reasoning above also applies to the consultation process under Section 7(a) of the ESA. 16 <br />U.S.C, 9 I 536. The "Federal action" on which the Forest Service is consulting is the development <br />of the terms. and conditions for the easement. <br /> <br />Regulations promulgated under the ESA specifically discuss "environmental baseline" under the <br />definition of Effects olthe action in 50 C.F.R. 9402.02: <br /> <br />Effects olthe action refers to the direct and indirect effects of ari action on the <br />species or critical habitat, together with the effects of other activities that are. <br />interrelated orinterdependent with that action, that will be added to the <br />environmental baseline. The environmental baseline includes the past arid present <br />impacts of all Federal, State, or private actions and other human activities in the <br />action mea, the anticipated impacts of all proposed Federal projects in the action <br />area that have already undergone formal or early section 7 consultation, and the <br />impact of State or private actions which are. contemporaneous with the consultation <br />in process. <br /> <br />Under this defi~tion, the effect of the diversion and transport of water by the facility for which an <br />easementissought is clearly part of the environmental baseline fOJ: purposes ofESA consultation. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Page 7 of 14 <br />