[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 62 (Thursday, March 31, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18811-18812]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-06750]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. DOI-2022-0003; 223D0102DM, DS6CS00000, DLSN00000.000000, 
DX.6CS25]


Request for Information To Inform Interagency Working Group on 
Mining Regulations, Laws, and Permitting

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Request for information.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Interior is announcing the formation of 
an interagency working group to gather information and develop 
recommendations for improving Federal hardrock mining regulations, 
laws, and permitting processes, and is inviting public comments to help 
inform the efforts of the working group. Virtual or in-person public 
listening sessions will be announced in the upcoming months.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments by 11:59 p.m. 
on July 31, 2022. When public listening sessions are scheduled, the 
dates will be published in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted through https://www.regulations.gov and will be available for public viewing and 
inspection. In the Search box, enter the docket number presented above 
in the document headings. For best results, do not copy and paste the 
number; instead, type the docket number into the Search box using 
hyphens. Then, click on the Search button. You may submit a comment by 
clicking on ``Comment.'' Comments may also be submitted by mail using 
the following address: Bureau of Land Management, Division of Solid 
Minerals, 1849 C Street NW, Room 5645, Washington, DC 20240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven Feldgus, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary, Land and Minerals Management, (202) 208-6734 or by email at 
[email protected]. Individuals in the United States who are 
deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 
711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay 
services for contacting (Mr. Feldgus). Individuals outside the United 
States should use the relay services offered within their country to 
make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 24, 2021, President Biden signed 
Executive Order (E.O.) 14017, ``America's Supply Chains.'' On June 8, 
2021, the White House released the 100-Day reviews directed by E.O. 
14017, which included a recommendation for the Federal government to 
establish ``an interagency team with expertise in mine permitting and 
environmental law to identify gaps in statutes and regulations that may 
need to be updated to ensure new production meets strong environmental 
standards throughout the lifecycle of the project; ensure meaningful 
community consultation and consultation with tribal nations, respecting 
the government-to-government relationship, at all stages of the mining 
process; and examine opportunities to reduce time, cost, and risk of 
permitting without compromising these strong environmental and 
consultation

[[Page 18812]]

benchmarks.'' \1\ On September 16, 2021, the Department of the Interior 
(Department) received a petition for rulemaking pursuant to the 
Department's regulations at 43 CFR part 14 from 9 Tribal and 31 
conservation groups requesting ``a rulemaking to strengthen and 
modernize [the Bureau of Land Management's] regulations at 43 CFR 3800 
et seq.'' On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed the 
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA); section 40206 of the 
IIJA, ``Critical Minerals Supply Chains and Reliability,'' directs the 
Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to submit a report to 
Congress by November 15, 2022, that ``identifies additional measures, 
including regulatory and legislative proposals, if appropriate, that 
would increase the timeliness of permitting activities for the 
exploration and development of domestic critical minerals.''
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    \1\ The White House, Building Resilient Supply Chains, 
Revitalizing American Manufacturing, and Fostering Broad-Based 
Growth, June 2021, p. 14. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/06/08/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-supply-chain-disruptions-task-force-to-address-short-term-supply-chain-discontinuities/.
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    To respond to these directives and the rulemaking petition, the 
Department has created an interagency working group (IWG) on Federal 
hardrock mining laws, regulations, and permitting, chaired by the 
Department and including the Department of Agriculture through the U.S. 
Forest Service; the Environmental Protection Agency; the Army Corps of 
Engineers; the Departments of Commerce, Energy, and State; the Council 
on Environmental Quality; and the National Economic Council. For the 
purposes of the IWG, ``hardrock'' minerals are those mineral resources 
that are subject to disposal under the Mining Law of 1872.
    The IWG intends to convene agency experts and receive input from 
the public in order to assess the adequacy of existing laws, 
regulations, and permitting processes, determine whether changes to 
those are necessary to meet the goals laid out in the recommendation 
from the E.O. 14017 100-Day reviews, and if it concludes that changes 
are necessary, make recommendations to the appropriate Federal agencies 
or Congress on how to implement those changes. The IWG will consider a 
broad range of issues related to mining, such as:
     Would alternatives to the existing claim system, such as 
leasing, or adjustments to the current system, such as incorporating 
mining into comprehensive federal lands use assessments and planning, 
lead to better outcomes for communities, environment and a secure 
domestic supply of minerals? If so, how should such an alternative or 
adjusted system be structured?
     Are there international mining best practices or standards 
that the United States should consider adopting, or encouraging the 
U.S. mining industry to adopt? If so, which practices or standards and 
what improvements or benefits would they provide?
     If the U.S. were to place royalties on hardrock minerals 
produced from public domain lands, what factors should be considered 
and what structures would best protect the interests of the taxpayer 
while responsibly incentivizing production?, In addition, if royalties 
were collected, how should those revenues be allocated?
     What changes to financial assurance requirements for 
mining should be considered?
     How might the U.S. best support reclamation of existing 
AML sites including the development of meaningful good Samaritan 
proposals as well as remining and reprocessing of mine tailings and 
waste, where feasible?
     What would a successful mine reclamation program include? 
Are there existing programs that the U.S. should adopt?
     How can Tribes and local communities be effectively 
engaged early in the process to ensure that they have meaningful input 
into the development of mine proposals?
     How could updates to the Mining Law of 1872, or other 
relevant statutes, help provide more certainty and timeliness in the 
permitting process?
     What improvements can be made to the mine permitting 
process without reducing opportunities for public input or limiting the 
comprehensiveness of environmental reviews?
     What types of incentives would be appropriate to encourage 
the development of critical minerals, and what is the proper definition 
of a ``critical mineral mine''?
     Are there areas that should be off-limits from mining, and 
if so, how should those be identified?
     What science and data should be included in any decisions 
to permit and develop mines?

This list is not meant to be comprehensive; it is simply a reflection 
of the breadth of the issues under the IWG's purview.
    To inform the IWG's deliberations, in addition to soliciting 
comment from any interested member of the public through the end of 
July 2022, the IWG will host a series of roundtables, either virtually 
or in-person, for different stakeholder groups, including but not 
limited to:
     Native American Tribes;
     state and local governments;
     environmental justice groups;
     labor organizations;
     the hardrock mining industry;
     Non-governmental organizations representing environmental, 
conservation, and recreation interests;
     scientists; and
     other experts in mining laws, regulations, and permitting.
    Additional information regarding these roundtables will be provided 
at a later date through publication in the Federal Register and on 
agency websites. The roundtables will be open to the public but 
speaking opportunities will be by invitation only. The Department 
welcomes nominations for speakers for each of the stakeholder groups 
listed above, and also suggestions for roundtables for additional 
stakeholder groups that are not listed.
    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

    Dated: March 23, 2022.
Tommy Beaudreau,
Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior.
[FR Doc. 2022-06750 Filed 3-30-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4334-63-P