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[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4402 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4402

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 16, 2012

   Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

 
     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 shall 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 if 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 the following:
            (1) The decision on whether to prepare a document required 
        under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
            (2) A determination of the scope of any document required 
        under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
            (3) The scope of and schedule for the baseline studies 
        required to prepare a document required under the National 
        Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
            (4) Preparation of any draft document required under the 
        National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
            (5) Preparation of a final document required under the 
        National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
            (6) Consultations required under applicable laws.
            (7) Submission and review of any comments required under 
        applicable law.
            (8) Publication of any public notices required under 
        applicable law.
            (9) A final or any interim decisions.
    (e) In no case should the total review process described in 
subsection (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 mineral exploration or 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.
    (h) This section shall apply with respect to a mineral exploration 
or mine permit for which an application was submitted before the date 
of the enactment of this Act if the applicant for the permit submits a 
written request to the lead agency for the permit. The lead agency 
shall begin implementing this section with respect to such application 
within 30 days after receiving such written request.
    (i) With respect to strategic and critical materials within a 
federally administered unit of the National Forest System, the lead 
agency shall--
            (1) exempt all areas of identified mineral resources in 
        Land Use Designations, other than Non-Development Land Use 
        Designations, in existence as of the date of the enactment of 
        this Act from the procedures detailed at and all rules 
        promulgated under part 294 of title 36, Code for Federal 
        Regulations;
            (2) apply such exemption to all additional routes and areas 
        that the lead agency finds necessary to facilitate the 
        construction, operation, maintenance, and restoration of the 
        areas of identified mineral resources described in paragraph 
        (1); and
            (3) continue to apply such exemptions after approval of the 
        Minerals Plan of Operations for the unit of the National Forest 
        System.

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.

            Passed the House of Representatives July 12, 2012.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.
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