PERMFILE134363

• Permit No: C2008086
• IBM Index Class Name: Application Correspondence
• Doc Date: 12/7/2006
• Doc Name: Public Scoping Report for the Environmental Impact Statement
• From: BLM
• To: DRMS
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

i~
activity and interdisciplinary level plans;" and e) "[d]esignating a Special Status
Species Program Coordinator.il
Additionally, the BLM is required to ensure that activities on BLM lands do not contribute to the
need for any species to become listed as Threatened or Endangered under the ESA.2
a. The BLM Must Collect Adequate Baseline Data
' In order for the BLM to make informed and reasonable determinations regarding the impact this
project may have on these species, the agency must monitor or survey for Special Status Species
within the project area to determine whether and where they occur. To ignore this responsibility
' or fulfill it inadequately would put the BLM in violation of its general duty to "prepare and
maintain on a continuing basis an inventory of all public lands and their resources and other
values." 3 Further, ignoring this obligation would violate specific duties related to Special Status
' Species, including the mandate to monitor the "populations and habitats" of such species a
Without this basic inventory and monitoring data, the State Director cannot fulfill her
responsibilities for determining "the condition of the populations and their habitats, and how
discretionary BLM actions affect those species and their habitats.s5
Additionally, without monitoring and surveying for Special Status Species, the BLM will not be
in compliance with its obligation to these species because it can not ensure that actions
authorized, funded, or carried out under this project will not contribute, or aze not now
contributing, to the need for any species to become listed as a candidate species.
Lastly, 40 C.F.R. § 1502.15 requires agencies to "describe the environment of the area(s) to be
affected or created by the alternatives under consideration." Establishment of baseline
conditions is a requirement of National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA"). In Half Moon Bay
Fisherman's Marketing Assn v. Carlucci, 857 F.2d 505, 510 (9th Cir. 1988), the Ninth Circuit
stated that "without establishing... baseline conditions... there is simply no way to determine
what effect [an action] will have on the environment, and consequently, no way to comply with
NEPA." The court further held that, "The concept of a baseline against which to compaze
predictions of the effects of the proposed action and reasonable altematives is critical to the
NEPA process." Therefore, in order for the BLM to meet its NEPA duties to take a "hazd look"
at the potential impacts of the proposed project with respect to these species and their habitat, the
agency must collect baseline data on surface water quality, Sensitive species populations and
habitat, and the agency must follow the obligations outlined in BLM Manual § 6840 and
Handbook H-1601-1, Appendix C at 5.
Before any exploration can proceed, the project area should be inventoried for biological
resources, and measures should be taken to protect these resources. Baseline data that the BLM
must collect include the occurrence, distribution, abundance, current threats, condition, reasons
for the current status, population dynamics, habitat condition and needs, for Special Status
'BLM Manual § 6840.04(E).
~ 16 U.S.C. § 1536(a)(2).
~ 43 U.S.C. § 1711(a).
BLM Manual §§ 6840.06(E) and 6840.06(C)(2)(d).
' 'BLM Manual § 6840.04(E).
Center for Native Ecosystems Page 5 of 24
Scoping Comments for the Proposed Red Cliff Coat Mine