Defining Aquatic Resource Baseline Conditions for Mining Projects - the Why, What, Where, and When of Data Collection

Given the extent of surface disturbances they can create, mining projects represent one of the most visually noticeable resource extraction operations in the world. Aerial photographs, Google earth Ó and even satellite images are able to reveal large expanses of heavily disturbed areas, often including large open pits that represent the centers of mining activity, or in some cases the remnants of past mining operations. The legacy of mining operations in the United States is wrought with examples of where mining activities initiated in the late 1800s and early 1900s have resulted in chronic and even catastrophic impacts to aquatic resources. The worst examples can, without human intervention result in severe, long-term impacts to aquatic ecosystems and may end up at the center of CERCLA based Natural Resource Damages Assessment (NRDA) actions that focus on defining resource injuries residual to those eradicated by CERCLA actions.  In these instances, the need to define a Baseline condition that represents the state of the resource absent any release of a hazardous material becomes of paramount importance. It is the difference between the Baseline Condition and the Current Condition of the resource that is the residual injury that warrants monetary compensation. Determining this view of the Historic Baseline is wrought with methodological pitfalls in terms of teasing out anthropogenic effects from those associated with the release of mine related hazardous materials. Contemporary mining projects are subject to more rigorous environmental regulations and laws broadly encompassed by the National Environmental Policy Act that are designed to avoid, minimize, rectify, reduce and/or compensate for  actions or impacts that may be incurred. Central to understanding and determining potential impacts and defining appropriate monitoring programs for these projects is clear definition of existing, i.e. Current Baseline Conditions.  The Current Baseline Condition of aquatic resources represents the environmental conditions prior to any mining activity that would otherwise alter those conditions.  Defining such conditions requires 1) identification of ecological components that comprise the aquatic ecosystem; 2) planning/designing of appropriate studies to evaluate current conditions of those elements; 3) study implementation; and 4) baseline characterization.  This paper describes the key components needed to define Current Baseline Conditions related to mining projects.  Examples of past mining projects in Montana (Anaconda) and Idaho (Coeur d’Alene) subjected to NRDA Historic Baseline characterizations are contrasted with contemporary projects proposed in Montana (Rock Creek) and Alaska (Pebble) focused on defining Current Baseline conditions.