IB 

Union Calendar No. 100 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 761 

[Report No. 113–138, Part I] 

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 

FEBRUARY 15, 2013 

Mr. AMODEI (for himself, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, 

Mr. JONES, Mr. WALBERG, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. HECK of Nevada, Mr. TIPTON, Mr. WALDEN, Mr. STIVERS, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, 

Mr. LATTA, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. CONAWAY, Mr. BENISHEK, Mr. 

DAINES, Mr. GARDNER, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, Mr. MATHESON, Mr. BISHOP

of Georgia, Mr. LABRADOR, Mr. STEWART, Mr. CHAFFETZ, Mr. SALMON, 

Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. PEARCE, and Mr. LUETKEMEYER) 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 

JULY 8, 2013 

Additional sponsors: Mr. COFFMAN, Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. 

MCCLINTOCK, Mr. FINCHER, Mr. GRAVES of Georgia, Mrs. LUMMIS, Mr. 

SOUTHERLAND, Mr. SCHOCK, Mr. FLORES, Mr. HARRIS, Mr. CRAMER, 

Mr. GRIMM, Mrs. BACHMANN, Mr. BUCSHON, Mr. DUNCAN of South 

Carolina, Mr. NUNNELEE, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. ROGERS of Michigan, Mr. ROSS, Mr. KLINE, Mrs. MCMORRIS RODGERS, Mr. LONG, Mr. 

MEADOWS, Mr. RADEL, Mr. WESTMORELAND, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mrs. MILLER of Michigan, and Mr. ROHRABACHER


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JULY 8, 2013 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

JULY 8, 2013 

The Committee on the Judiciary discharged; committed to the Committee of 

the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 15, 2013] 

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. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Strategic and 

5 Critical Minerals Production Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The industrialization of China and India 

9 has driven demand for nonfuel mineral commodities, 

10 sparking a period of resource nationalism exemplified 

11 by China’s reduction in exports of rare-earth elements 

12 necessary for telecommunications, military tech13 nologies, healthcare technologies, and conventional 

14 and renewable energy technologies. 

15 (2) The availability of minerals and mineral 

16 materials are essential for economic growth, national 

17 security, technological innovation, and the manufac18 turing and agricultural supply chain. 

19 (3) The exploration, production, processing, use, 

20 and recycling of minerals contribute significantly to 

21 the economic well-being, security and general welfare 

22 of the Nation. 

23 (4) The United States has vast mineral re24 sources, but is becoming increasingly dependent upon 


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1 foreign sources of these mineral materials, as dem2 onstrated by the following: 

3 (A) Twenty-five years ago the United States 

4 was dependent on foreign sources for 30 nonfuel 

5 mineral materials, 6 of which the United States 

6 imported 100 percent of the Nation’s require7 ments, and for another 16 commodities the 

8 United States imported more than 60 percent of 

9 the Nation’s needs. 

10 (B) By 2011 the United States import de11 pendence for nonfuel mineral materials had more 

12 than doubled from 30 to 67 commodities, 19 of 

13 which the United States imported 100 percent of 

14 the Nation’s requirements, and for another 24 

15 commodities, imported more than 50 percent of 

16 the Nation’s needs. 

17 (C) The United States share of worldwide 

18 mineral exploration dollars was 8 percent in 

19 2011, down from 19 percent in the early 1990s. 

20 (D) In the 2012 Ranking of Countries for 

21 Mining Investment, out of 25 major mining 

22 countries, the United States ranked last with 

23 Papua New Guinea in permitting delays, and 

24 towards the bottom regarding government take 

25 and social issues affecting mining. 


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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) STRATEGIC AND CRITICAL MINERALS.—The 

4 term ‘‘strategic and critical minerals’’ means min5 erals that are necessary— 

6 (A) for national defense and national secu7 rity requirements; 

8 (B) for the Nation’s energy infrastructure, 

9 including pipelines, refining capacity, electrical 

10 power generation and transmission, and renew11 able energy production; 

12 (C) to support domestic manufacturing, ag13 riculture, housing, telecommunications, 

14 healthcare, and transportation infrastructure; or 

15 (D) for the Nation’s economic security and 

16 balance of trade. 

17 (2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ means any 

18 agency, department, or other unit of Federal, State, 

19 local, or tribal government, or Alaska Native Cor20 poration. 

21 (3) MINERAL EXPLORATION OR MINE PERMIT.— 

22 The term ‘‘mineral exploration or mine permit’’ in23 cludes plans of operation issued by the Bureau of 

24 Land Management and the Forest Service pursuant 

25 to 43 C.F.R. 3809 and 36 C.F.R. 228A or the au26 thorities listed in 43 C.F.R. 3503.13, respectively. 


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1 TITLE I—DEVELOPMENT OF DO2 MESTIC SOURCES OF STRA3 TEGIC AND CRITICAL MIN4 ERALS 

5 SEC. 101. IMPROVING DEVELOPMENT OF STRATEGIC AND 

6 CRITICAL MINERALS. 

7 Domestic mines that will provide strategic and critical 

8 minerals shall be considered an ‘‘infrastructure project’’ as 

9 described in Presidential Order ‘‘Improving Performance of 

10 Federal Permitting and Review of Infrastructure Projects’’ 

11 dated March 22, 2012. 

12 SEC. 102. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE LEAD AGENCY. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The lead agency with responsibility 

14 for issuing a mineral exploration or mine permit shall ap15 point a project lead who shall coordinate and consult with 

16 cooperating agencies and any other agency involved in the 

17 permitting process, project proponents and contractors to 

18 ensure that agencies minimize delays, set and adhere to 

19 timelines and schedules for completion of the permitting 

20 process, set clear permitting goals and track progress 

21 against those goals. 

22 (b) DETERMINATION UNDER NEPA.—To the extent 

23 that the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 applies 

24 to any mineral exploration or mine permit, the lead agency 

25 with responsibility for issuing a mineral exploration or 


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1 mine permit shall determine that the action to approve the 

2 exploration or mine permit does not constitute a major Fed3 eral action significantly affecting the quality of the human 

4 environment within the meaning of the National Environ5 mental Policy Act of 1969 if the procedural and substantive 

6 safeguards of the permitting process alone, any applicable 

7 State permitting process alone, or a combination of the two 

8 processes together provide an adequate mechanism to ensure 

9 that environmental factors are taken into account. 

10 (c) COORDINATION ON PERMITTING PROCESS.—The 

11 lead agency with responsibility for issuing a mineral explo12 ration or mine permit shall enhance government coordina13 tion for the permitting process by avoiding duplicative re14 views, minimizing paperwork and engaging other agencies 

15 and stakeholders early in the process. The lead agency shall 

16 consider the following best practices: 

17 (1) Deferring to and relying upon baseline data, 

18 analyses and reviews performed by State agencies 

19 with jurisdiction over the proposed project. 

20 (2) Conducting any consultations or reviews con21 currently rather than sequentially to the extent prac22 ticable and when such concurrent review will expedite 

23 rather than delay a decision. 

24 (d) SCHEDULE FOR PERMITTING PROCESS.—At the 

25 request of a project proponent, the lead agency, cooperating 


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1 agencies and any other agencies involved with the mineral 

2 exploration or mine permitting process shall enter into an 

3 agreement with the project proponent that sets time limits 

4 for each part of the permitting process including the fol5 lowing: 

6 (1) The decision on whether to prepare a docu7 ment required under the National Environmental 

8 Policy Act of 1969. 

9 (2) A determination of the scope of any docu10 ment required under the National Environmental 

11 Policy Act of 1969. 

12 (3) The scope of and schedule for the baseline 

13 studies required to prepare a document required 

14 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 

15 1969. 

16 (4) Preparation of any draft document required 

17 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 

18 1969. 

19 (5) Preparation of a final document required 

20 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 

21 1969. 

22 (6) Consultations required under applicable 

23 laws. 

24 (7) Submission and review of any comments re25 quired under applicable law. 


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1 (8) Publication of any public notices required 

2 under applicable law. 

3 (9) A final or any interim decisions. 

4 (e) TIME LIMIT FOR PERMITTING PROCESS.—In no 

5 case should the total review process described in subsection 

6 (d) exceed 30 months unless agreed to by the signatories 

7 of the agreement. 

8 (f) LIMITATION ON ADDRESSING PUBLIC COM9 MENTS.—The lead agency is not required to address agency 

10 or public comments that were not submitted during any 

11 public comment periods or consultation periods provided 

12 during the permitting process or as otherwise required by 

13 law. 

14 (g) FINANCIAL ASSURANCE.—The lead agency will de15 termine the amount of financial assurance for reclamation 

16 of a mineral exploration or mining site, which must cover 

17 the estimated cost if the lead agency were to contract with 

18 a third party to reclaim the operations according to the 

19 reclamation plan, including construction and maintenance 

20 costs for any treatment facilities necessary to meet Federal, 

21 State or tribal environmental standards. 

22 (h) APPLICATION TO EXISTING PERMIT APPLICA23 TIONS.—This section shall apply with respect to a mineral 

24 exploration or mine permit for which an application was 

25 submitted before the date of the enactment of this Act if 


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1 the applicant for the permit submits a written request to 

2 the lead agency for the permit. The lead agency shall begin 

3 implementing this section with respect to such application 

4 within 30 days after receiving such written request. 

5 (i) STRATEGIC AND CRITICAL MINERALS WITHIN NA6 TIONAL FORESTS.—With respect to strategic and critical 

7 minerals within a federally administered unit of the Na8 tional Forest System, the lead agency shall— 

9 (1) exempt all areas of identified mineral re10 sources in Land Use Designations, other than Non11 Development Land Use Designations, in existence as 

12 of the date of the enactment of this Act from the pro13 cedures detailed at and all rules promulgated under 

14 part 294 of title 36, Code for Federal Regulations; 

15 (2) apply such exemption to all additional routes 

16 and areas that the lead agency finds necessary to fa17 cilitate the construction, operation, maintenance, and 

18 restoration of the areas of identified mineral resources 

19 described in paragraph (1); and 

20 (3) continue to apply such exemptions after ap21 proval of the Minerals Plan of Operations for the unit 

22 of the National Forest System. 

23 SEC. 103. CONSERVATION OF THE RESOURCE. 

24 In evaluating and issuing any mineral exploration or 

25 mine permit, the priority of the lead agency shall be to 


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1 maximize the development of the mineral resource, while 

2 mitigating environmental impacts, so that more of the min3 eral resource can be brought to the market place. 

4 SEC. 104. FEDERAL REGISTER PROCESS FOR MINERAL EX5 PLORATION AND MINING PROJECTS. 

6 (a) PREPARATION OF FEDERAL NOTICES FOR MIN7 ERAL EXPLORATION AND MINE DEVELOPMENT

8 PROJECTS.—The preparation of Federal Register notices 

9 required by law associated with the issuance of a mineral 

10 exploration or mine permit shall be delegated to the organi11 zation level within the agency responsible for issuing the 

12 mineral exploration or mine permit. All Federal Register 

13 notices regarding official document availability, announce14 ments of meetings, or notices of intent to undertake an ac15 tion shall be originated and transmitted to the Federal Reg16 ister from the office where documents are held, meetings are 

17 held, or the activity is initiated. 

18 (b) DEPARTMENTAL REVIEW OF FEDERAL REGISTER

19 NOTICES FOR MINERAL EXPLORATION AND MINING

20 PROJECTS.—Absent any extraordinary circumstance or ex21 cept as otherwise required by any Act of Congress, each Fed22 eral Register notice described in subsection (a) shall under23 go any required reviews within the Department of the Inte24 rior or the Department of Agriculture and be published in 


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1 its final form in the Federal Register no later than 30 days 

2 after its initial preparation. 

3 TITLE II—JUDICIAL REVIEW OF 

4 AGENCY ACTIONS RELATING 

5 TO EXPLORATION AND MINE 

6 PERMITS 

7 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS FOR TITLE. 

8 In this title the term ‘‘covered civil action’’ means a 

9 civil action against the Federal Government containing a 

10 claim under section 702 of title 5, United States Code, re11 garding agency action affecting a mineral exploration or 

12 mine permit. 

13 SEC. 202. TIMELY FILINGS. 

14 A covered civil action is barred unless filed no later 

15 than the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date 

16 of the final Federal agency action to which it relates. 

17 SEC. 203. RIGHT TO INTERVENE. 

18 The holder of any mineral exploration or mine permit 

19 may intervene as of right in any covered civil action by 

20 a person affecting rights or obligations of the permit holder 

21 under the permit. 

22 SEC. 204. EXPEDITION IN HEARING AND DETERMINING THE 

23 ACTION. 

24 The court shall endeavor to hear and determine any 

25 covered civil action as expeditiously as possible. 


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1 SEC. 205. LIMITATION ON PROSPECTIVE RELIEF. 

2 In a covered civil action, the court shall not grant or 

3 approve any prospective relief unless the court finds that 

4 such relief is narrowly drawn, extends no further than nec5 essary to correct the violation of a legal requirement, and 

6 is the least intrusive means necessary to correct that viola7 tion. 

8 SEC. 206. LIMITATION ON ATTORNEYS’ FEES. 

9 Sections 504 of title 5, United States Code, and 2412 

10 of title 28, United States Code (together commonly called 

11 the Equal Access to Justice Act) do not apply to a covered 

12 civil action, nor shall any party in such a covered civil 

13 action receive payment from the Federal Government for 

14 their attorneys’ fees, expenses, and other court costs. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 100 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 761 

[Report No. 113–138, Part I] 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Interior and the 

and manufacturing competitiveness. to United States economic and national security eral materials of strategic and critical importance velop domestic sources of the minerals and minSecretary of Agriculture to more efficiently deJULY 8, 2013 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with 

J

an amendment 

ULY 8, 2013 

The Committee on the Judiciary discharged; committed 

the Union and ordered to be printed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS