Do the Feds Need to Facilitate More Development of Critical Minerals? (H.R. 1937)

What is H.R. 1937?

(Updated December 18, 2017)

This bill would require the Dept. of the Interior (DOI) and the Dept. of Agriculture to more efficiently develop domestic sources of strategic and critical minerals and mineral materials — including rare earth elements.

These agencies would define strategic and critical minerals as those that are necessary:

• For national defense and national security requirements;

• For the nation’s energy infrastructure including pipelines, refining capacity, electrical power generation and transmission, and renewable energy production;

• To support domestic manufacturing, agriculture, housing, telecommunications, health care, and transportation infrastructure;

• For the nation’s economic security and balance of trade.

The permitting process for mineral exploration would be streamlined by clearly defining the duties of a lead agency. The total review period for issuing permits would be limited 30 months unless those involved agree to an extension. Currently, there is no limit on when permit review must end decisions be issued.

Litigation against mineral mining projects would have to be initiated and concluded within specified timeframes. A legal challenge to an energy project would have to be filed within 90 days, and the venue of the challenge would have to be the judicial district that the project would occur in. Any preliminary injunction to halt mining projects would be limited to 60 days unless the court finds reason to extend the injunction.

Argument in favor

Introducing more certainty to the permitting process for strategic mineral projects would be beneficial to developers and the court system.

Argument opposed

This would only make it harder for groups to block and delay mining projects. The U.S. shouldn’t be developing its mineral resources.

Impact

Businesses or groups challenging or operating mining projects, federal courts, and relevant federal agencies.

Cost of H.R. 1937

The CBO estimates that implementing this legislation would cost less than $300,000 per year.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) cited a problematic status quo as the reason he introduced this legislation in the past:

“Duplicative regulations, bureaucratic inefficiency, and lack of coordination between federal agencies are threatening the economic recovery of my home state and jeopardizing our national security… Decade-long permitting delays are standing in the way of high-paying jobs and revenue for local communities. This bill would streamline the permitting process to leverage our nation’s vast mineral resources, while paying due respect to economic and environmental concerns.”

Previous versions of this legislation were introduced in 2012 during the 112th Congress, and 2013 during the 113th Congress.

Currently, this bill has 48 cosponsors in the House, all of whom are Republicans.

Media:

• Sponsoring Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) Press Release (Previous Version)
• House Natural Resources Committee Press Release (Previous Version)
• CBO Cost Estimate