Selection of Appropriate Baseline Conditions for NEPA Analysis

The purpose of this process memorandum is to:

• Summarize available guidance regarding the selection of appropriate baseline conditions against which Resolution Copper project impacts will be compared; and
• Where necessary, document the rationale for selecting baseline conditions for specific resources. In particular, the Tonto National Forest received two differing suggestions on how to define baseline conditions for groundwater resources, and this memo discusses the appropriateness of each possible approach.