[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4402 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4402
To require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of
Agriculture to more efficiently develop domestic sources of the
minerals and mineral materials of strategic and critical importance to
United States economic and national security and manufacturing
competitiveness.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 19, 2012
Mr. Amodei introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on the
Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of
Agriculture to more efficiently develop domestic sources of the
minerals and mineral materials of strategic and critical importance to
United States economic and national security and manufacturing
competitiveness.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Strategic and Critical
Minerals Production Act of 2012''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The industrialization of China and India has driven
demand for nonfuel mineral commodities, sparking a period of
resource nationalism exemplified by China's reduction in
exports of rare-earth elements necessary for
telecommunications, military technologies, healthcare
technologies, and conventional and renewable energy
technologies.
(2) The availability of minerals and mineral materials are
essential for economic growth, national security, technological
innovation, and the manufacturing and agricultural supply
chain.
(3) The exploration, production, processing, use, and
recycling of minerals contribute significantly to the economic
well-being, security and general welfare of the Nation.
(4) The United States has vast mineral resources, but is
becoming increasingly dependent upon foreign sources of these
mineral materials, as demonstrated by the following:
(A) Twenty-five years ago the United States was
dependent on foreign sources for 30 nonfuel mineral
materials, 6 of which the United States imported 100
percent of the Nation's requirements, and for another
16 commodities the United States imported more than 60
percent of the Nation's needs.
(B) By 2011 the United States import dependence for
nonfuel mineral materials had more than doubled from 30
to 67 commodities, 19 of which the United States
imported 100 percent of the Nation's requirements, and
for another 24 commodities, imported more than 50
percent of the Nation's needs.
(C) The United States share of world wide mineral
exploration dollars was 8 percent in 2011, down from 19
percent in the early 1990s.
(D) In the 2012 Ranking of Countries for Mining
Investment, out of 25 major mining countries, the
United States ranked last with Papua New Guinea in
permitting delays, and towards the bottom regarding
government take and social issues affecting mining.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Strategic and critical minerals.--The term ``strategic
and critical minerals'' means minerals that are necessary--
(A) for national defense and national security
requirements;
(B) for the Nation's energy infrastructure,
including pipelines, refining capacity, electrical
power generation and transmission, and renewable energy
production;
(C) to support domestic manufacturing, agriculture,
housing, telecommunications, healthcare, and
transportation infrastructure; and
(D) for the Nation's economic security and balance
of trade.
(2) Agency.--The term ``agency'' means any agency,
department, or other unit of Federal, State, local, or tribal
government, or Alaska Native Corporation.
(3) Mineral exploration or mine permit.--The term ``mineral
exploration or mine permit'' includes plans of operation issued
by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service
pursuant to 43 CFR 3809 and 36 CFR 228A respectively.
TITLE I--DEVELOPMENT OF DOMESTIC SOURCES OF STRATEGIC AND CRITICAL
MINERALS
SEC. 101. IMPROVING DEVELOPMENT OF STRATEGIC AND CRITICAL MINERALS.
Domestic mines that will provide strategic and critical minerals
shall be considered an ``infrastructure project'' as described in
Presidential Order ``Improving Performance of Federal Permitting and
Review of Infrastructure Projects'' dated March 22, 2012.
SEC. 102. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE LEAD AGENCY.
(a) In General.--The lead agency with responsibility for issuing a
mineral exploration or mine permit shall appoint a project lead who
shall coordinate and consult with other agencies, cooperating agencies,
project proponents and contractors to ensure that agencies minimize
delays, set and adhere to timelines and schedules for completion of
reviews, set clear permitting goals and track progress against those
goals.
(b) The lead agency with responsibility for issuing a mineral
exploration or mine permit may determine any such action would not
constitute a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality
of the human environment within the meaning of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 because the procedural and substantive
safeguards of the lead agency's permitting process alone, any
applicable State permitting process alone, or a combination of the two
processes together provide an adequate mechanism to ensure that
environmental factors are taken into account.
(c) The lead agency with responsibility for issuing a mineral
exploration or mine permit shall enhance government coordination on
permitting and review by avoiding duplicative reviews, minimizing
paperwork and engaging other agencies and stakeholders early in the
process. The lead agency shall consider the following best practices:
(1) Deferring to and relying upon baseline data, analysis
and reviews preformed by State agencies with jurisdiction over
the proposed project.
(2) Conducting reviews concurrently rather than
sequentially to the extent practicable and when such concurrent
review will expedite rather than delay a decision.
(d) At the request of a project proponent, the project lead of the
agency with responsibility for issuing a mineral exploration or mine
permit shall enter into an agreement with the project proponent and
other cooperating agencies that sets time limits for each part of the
permit review process including:
(1) The decision on whether to prepare an environmental
impact statement.
(2) A determination of the scope of any environmental
impact statement.
(3) Preparation of any draft environmental impact
statement.
(4) Preparation of a final environmental impact statement.
(5) Consultations required under applicable laws.
(6) Submission and review of any comments required under
applicable law.
(7) Publication of any public notices required under
applicable law.
(8) A final or any interim decisions.
(e) In no case should the total review process described in section
2(d) exceed 30 months unless agreed to by the signatories of the
agreement.
(f) The lead agency is not required to address agency or public
comments that were not submitted during the public comment periods
provided by the lead agency or otherwise required by law.
(g) The lead agency will determine the amount of financial
assurance for reclamation of a mining site, which must cover the
estimated cost if the lead agency were to contract with a third party
to reclaim the operations according to the reclamation plan, including
construction and maintenance costs for any treatment facilities
necessary to meet Federal, State or tribal environmental standards.
SEC. 103. CONSERVATION OF THE RESOURCE.
In developing the mineral exploration or mine permit, the priority
of the lead agency shall be to maximize the development of the mineral
resource, while mitigating environmental impacts, so that more of the
mineral resource can be brought to the market place.
SEC. 104. FEDERAL REGISTER PROCESS FOR MINERAL EXPLORATION AND MINING
PROJECTS.
(a) Preparation of Federal Notices for Mineral Exploration and Mine
Development Projects.--The preparation of Federal Register notices
required by law associated with the issuance of a mineral exploration
or mine permit shall be delegated to the organization level within the
agency responsible for issuing the mineral exploration or mine permit.
All Federal Register notices regarding official document availability,
announcements of meetings, or notices of intent to undertake an action
shall be originated and transmitted to the Federal Register from the
office where documents are held, meetings are held, or the activity is
initiated.
(b) Departmental Review of Federal Register Notices for Mineral
Exploration and Mining Projects.--Absent any extraordinary circumstance
or except as otherwise required by any Act of Congress, each Federal
Register notice described in subsection (a) shall undergo any required
reviews within the Department of the Interior or the Department of
Agriculture and be published in its final form in the Federal Register
no later than 30 days after its initial preparation.
TITLE II--JUDICIAL REVIEW OF AGENCY ACTIONS RELATING TO EXPLORATION AND
MINE PERMITS
SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS FOR TITLE.
In this title the term ``covered civil action'' means a civil
action containing a claim under section 702 of title 5, United States
Code, regarding agency action affecting a mineral exploration or mine
permit.
SEC. 202. TIMELY FILINGS.
A covered civil action is barred unless filed no later than the end
of the 60-day period beginning on the date of the final Federal agency
action to which it relates.
SEC. 203. EXPEDITION IN HEARING AND DETERMINING THE ACTION.
The court shall endeavor to hear and determine any covered civil
action as expeditiously as possible.
SEC. 204. LIMITATION ON PROSPECTIVE RELIEF.
In a covered civil action, the court shall not grant or approve any
prospective relief unless the court finds that such relief is narrowly
drawn, extends no further than necessary to correct the violation of a
legal requirement, and is the least intrusive means necessary to
correct that violation.
SEC. 205. LIMITATION ON ATTORNEYS' FEES.
Sections 504 of title 5, United States Code, and 2412 of title 28,
United States Code (together commonly called the Equal Access to
Justice Act) do not apply to a covered civil action, nor shall any
party in such a covered civil action receive payment from the Federal
Government for their attorneys' fees, expenses, and other court costs.
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