IB 

Union Calendar No. 482 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 520 

[Report No. 115–631] 

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 the economic and national security and manufacturing competitiveness of the United States, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 13, 2017 

Mr. AMODEI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

APRIL 11, 2018 

Additional sponsors: Mr. WESTERMAN, Mr. COOK, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. DUNCAN

of South Carolina, Mrs. MCMORRIS RODGERS, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. TIPTON, Mr. FLORES, Mr. PEARCE, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. LAMALFA, 

Mr. CRAMER, Mr. LABRADOR, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. 

MCCLINTOCK, Mr. CULBERSON, Mr. GRAVES of Georgia, Mr. JODY B. 

HICE of Georgia, Mrs. LOVE, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. 

BISHOP of Michigan, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. COLE, Mr. 

BARR, Mr. OLSON, Mr. STEWART, Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. RENACCI, Mr. 

FLEISCHMANN, Mr. GRAVES of Missouri, Mr. MOONEY of West Virginia, 

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky, Ms. CHENEY, and Mr. LATTA

APRIL 11, 2018 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

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

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

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 13, 2017] 


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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 the economic and national 

security and manufacturing competitiveness of the 

United States, and for other purposes. 


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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’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the industrialization of developing nations 

9 has driven demand for nonfuel minerals necessary for 

10 telecommunications, military technologies, healthcare 

11 technologies, and conventional and renewable energy 

12 technologies; 

13 (2) the availability of minerals and mineral ma14 terials are essential for economic growth, national se15 curity, technological innovation, and the manufac16 turing and agricultural supply chain; 

17 (3) minerals and mineral materials are critical 

18 components of every transportation, water, tele19 communications, and energy infrastructure project 

20 necessary to modernize the crumbling infrastructure 

21 of the United States; 

22 (4) the exploration, production, processing, use, 

23 and recycling of minerals contribute significantly to 

24 the economic well-being, security, and general welfare 

25 of the United States; and 


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1 (5) the United States has vast mineral resources 

2 but is becoming increasingly dependent on foreign 

3 sources of mineral resources, as demonstrated by the 

4 fact that— 

5 (A) 25 years ago, the United States was de6 pendent on foreign sources for 45 nonfuel min7 eral materials, of which— 

8 (i) 8 were imported by the United 

9 States to fulfill 100 percent of the require10 ments of the United States for those nonfuel 

11 mineral materials; and 

12 (ii) 19 were imported by the United 

13 States to fulfill greater than 50 percent of 

14 the requirements of the United States for 

15 those nonfuel mineral materials; 

16 (B) by 2015 the import dependence of the 

17 United States for nonfuel mineral materials in18 creased from dependence on the import of 45 

19 nonfuel mineral materials to dependence on the 

20 import of 47 nonfuel mineral materials, of 

21 which— 

22 (i) 19 were imported by the United 

23 States to fulfill 100 percent of the require24 ments of the United States for those nonfuel 

25 mineral materials; and 


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1 (ii) 22 were imported by the United 

2 States to fulfill greater than 50 percent of 

3 the requirements of the United States for 

4 those nonfuel mineral materials; 

5 (C) according to the Department of Energy, 

6 the United States imports greater than 50 per7 cent of the 41 metals and minerals key to clean 

8 energy applications; 

9 (D) the United States share of worldwide 

10 mineral exploration dollars was 7 percent in 

11 2015, down from 19 percent in the early 1990s; 

12 (E) the 2014 Ranking of Countries for Min13 ing Investment, which ranks 25 major mining 

14 countries, found that 7- to 10-year permitting 

15 delays are the most significant risk to mining 

16 projects in the United States; and 

17 (F) in late 2016, the Government Account18 ability Office found that— 

19 (i) ‘‘the Federal government’s approach 

20 to addressing critical materials supply 

21 issues has not been consistent with selected 

22 key practices for interagency collaboration, 

23 such as ensuring that agencies’ roles and re24 sponsibilities are clearly defined’’; and 


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1 (ii) ‘‘the Federal critical materials ap2 proach faces other limitations, including 

3 data limitations and a focus on only a sub4 set of critical materials, a limited focus on 

5 domestic production of critical materials, 

6 and limited engagement with industry’’. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ means— 

10 (A) any agency, department, or other unit 

11 of Federal, State, local, or tribal government; or 

12 (B) an Alaska Native Corporation. 

13 (2) ALASKA NATIVE CORPORATION.—The term 

14 ‘‘Alaska Native Corporation’’ has the meaning given 

15 the term ‘‘Native Corporation’’ in section 3 of the 

16 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 

17 1602). 

18 (3) LEAD AGENCY.—The term ‘‘lead agency’’ 

19 means the agency with primary responsibility for 

20 issuing a mineral exploration or mine permit for a 

21 project. 

22 (4) MINERAL EXPLORATION OR MINE PERMIT.— 

23 The term ‘‘mineral exploration or mine permit’’ in24 cludes— 


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1 (A) an authorization of the Bureau of Land 

2 Management or the Forest Service, as applicable, 

3 for premining activities that requires an envi4 ronmental impact statement or similar analysis 

5 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 

6 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 

7 (B) a plan of operations issued by— 

8 (i) the Bureau of Land Management 

9 under subpart 3809 of part 3800 of title 43, 

10 Code of Federal Regulations (or successor 

11 regulations); or 

12 (ii) the Forest Service under subpart A 

13 of part 228 of title 36, Code of Federal Reg14 ulations (or successor regulations); and 

15 (C) a permit issued under an authority de16 scribed in section 3503.13 of title 43, Code of 

17 Federal regulations (or successor regulations). 

18 (5) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ means a 

19 project for which the issuance of a permit is required 

20 to conduct activities for, relating to, or incidental to 

21 mineral exploration, mining, beneficiation, proc22 essing, or reclamation activities— 

23 (A) on a mining claim, millsite claim, or 

24 tunnel site claim for any locatable mineral; or 


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1 (B) in conjunction with any Federal min2 eral (other than coal and oil shale) that is leased 

3 under— 

4 (i) the Mineral Leasing Act for Ac5 quired Lands (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.); or 

6 (ii) section 402 of Reorganization Plan 

7 Numbered 3 of 1946 (5 U.S.C. App.). 

8 SEC. 4. IMPROVING DEVELOPMENT OF STRATEGIC AND 

9 CRITICAL MINERALS. 

10 (a) DEFINITION OF STRATEGIC AND CRITICAL MIN11 ERALS.—In this section, the term ‘‘strategic and critical 

12 minerals’’ means minerals that are necessary— 

13 (1) for the national defense and national security 

14 requirements; 

15 (2) for the energy infrastructure of the United 

16 States, including— 

17 (A) pipelines; 

18 (B) refining capacity; 

19 (C) electrical power generation and trans20 mission; and 

21 (D) renewable energy production; 

22 (3) for community resiliency, coastal restoration, 

23 and ecological sustainability for the coastal United 

24 States; 


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1 (4) to support domestic manufacturing, agri2 culture, housing, telecommunications, healthcare, and 

3 transportation infrastructure; or 

4 (5) for the economic security of, and balance of 

5 trade in, the United States. 

6 (b) CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN DOMESTIC MINES AS

7 INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.—A domestic mine that, as 

8 determined by the lead agency, will provide strategic and 

9 critical minerals shall be considered to be an infrastructure 

10 project, as described in Executive Order 13807. 

11 SEC. 5. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE LEAD AGENCY. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The lead agency shall appoint a 

13 project lead within the lead agency, who shall coordinate 

14 and consult with cooperating agencies and any other agen15 cies involved in the permitting process, project proponents, 

16 and contractors to ensure that cooperating agencies and 

17 other agencies involved in the permitting process, project 

18 proponents, and contractors— 

19 (1) minimize delays; 

20 (2) set and adhere to timelines and schedules for 

21 completion of the permitting process; 

22 (3) set clear permitting goals; and 

23 (4) track progress against those goals. 

24 (b) DETERMINATION UNDER NEPA.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent that the Na2 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

3 4321 et seq.) applies to the issuance of any mineral 

4 exploration or mine permit, the requirements of that 

5 Act shall be considered to have been procedurally and 

6 substantively satisfied if the lead agency determines 

7 that any State or Federal agency acting under State 

8 or Federal law has addressed or will address the fol9 lowing factors: 

10 (A) The environmental impact of the action 

11 to be conducted under the permit. 

12 (B) Possible adverse environmental effects of 

13 actions under the permit. 

14 (C) Possible alternatives to issuance of the 

15 permit. 

16 (D) The relationship between long- and 

17 short-term uses of the local environment and the 

18 maintenance and enhancement of long-term pro19 ductivity. 

20 (E) Any irreversible and irretrievable com21 mitment of resources that would be involved in 

22 the proposed action. 

23 (F) That public participation will occur 

24 during the decisionmaking process for author25 izing actions under the permit. 


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1 (2) WRITTEN REQUIREMENT.—In making a de2 termination under paragraph (1), not later than 90 

3 days after receipt of an application for the permit, 

4 the lead agency, in a written record of decision, 

5 shall— 

6 (A) explain the rationale used in reaching 

7 the determination; 

8 (B) state the facts in the record that are the 

9 basis for the determination; and 

10 (C) show that the facts in the record could 

11 allow a reasonable person to reach the same de12 termination as the lead agency did. 

13 (c) COORDINATION ON PERMITTING PROCESS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The lead agency shall enhance 

15 government coordination for the permitting process 

16 by— 

17 (A) avoiding duplicative reviews; 

18 (B) minimizing paperwork; and 

19 (C) engaging other agencies and stake20 holders early in the process. 

21 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out para22 graph (1), the lead agency shall consider— 

23 (A) deferring to, and relying on, baseline 

24 data, analyses, and reviews performed by State 


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1 agencies with jurisdiction over the proposed 

2 project; and 

3 (B) to the maximum extent practicable, 

4 conducting any consultations or reviews concur5 rently rather than sequentially if the concurrent 

6 consultation or review would expedite the proc7 ess. 

8 (3) MEMORANDUM OF AGENCY AGREEMENT.—If 

9 requested at any time by a State or local planning 

10 agency, the lead agency, in consultation with other 

11 Federal agencies with relevant jurisdiction in the en12 vironmental review process, may establish memo13 randa of agreement with the project sponsor, State 

14 and local governments, and other appropriate entities 

15 to accomplish the coordination activities described in 

16 this subsection. 

17 (d) SCHEDULE FOR PERMITTING PROCESS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—For any project for which the 

19 lead agency cannot make the determination described 

20 subsection (b), at the request of a project proponent, 

21 the lead agency, cooperating agencies, and any other 

22 agencies involved with the mineral exploration or 

23 mine permitting process shall enter into an agreement 

24 with the project proponent that sets time limits for 

25 each part of the permitting process, including— 


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1 (A) the decision on whether to prepare an 

2 environmental impact statement or similar anal3 ysis required under the National Environmental 

4 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 

5 (B) a determination of the scope of any en6 vironmental impact statement or similar anal7 ysis required under the National Environmental 

8 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 

9 (C) the scope of, and schedule for, the base10 line studies required to prepare an environ11 mental impact statement or similar analysis re12 quired under the National Environmental Policy 

13 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 

14 (D) preparation of any draft environmental 

15 impact statement or similar analysis required 

16 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 

17 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 

18 (E) preparation of a final environmental 

19 impact statement or similar analysis required 

20 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 

21 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 

22 (F) any consultations required under appli23 cable law; 

24 (G) submission and review of any comments 

25 required under applicable law; 


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1 (H) publication of any public notices re2 quired under applicable law; and 

3 (I) any final or interim decisions. 

4 (2) TIME LIMIT FOR PERMITTING PROCESS.—Ex5 cept if extended by mutual agreement of the project 

6 proponent and the lead agency, the time period for 

7 the total review process described in paragraph (1) 

8 shall not exceed 30 months. 

9 (e) LIMITATION ON ADDRESSING PUBLIC COM10 MENTS.—The lead agency shall not be required to address 

11 any agency or public comments that were not submitted— 

12 (1) during a public comment period or consulta13 tion period provided during the permitting process; or 

14 (2) as otherwise required by law. 

15 (f) FINANCIAL ASSURANCE.—The lead agency shall de16 termine the amount of financial assurance required for rec17 lamation of a mineral exploration or mining site, on the 

18 condition that the financial assurance shall cover the esti19 mated cost if the lead agency were to contract with a third 

20 party to reclaim the operations according to the reclama21 tion plan, including construction and maintenance costs for 

22 any treatment facilities necessary to meet Federal, State, 

23 or tribal environmental standards. 


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1 (g) PROJECTS WITHIN NATIONAL FORESTS.—With re2 spect to projects on National Forest System land, the lead 

3 agency shall— 

4 (1) exempt from the requirements of part 294 of 

5 title 36, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor reg6 ulations)— 

7 (A) all areas of identified mineral resources 

8 in land use designations, other than nondevelop9 ment land use designations, in existence on the 

10 date of enactment of this Act; and 

11 (B) all additional routes and areas that the 

12 lead agency determines necessary to facilitate the 

13 construction, operation, maintenance, and res14 toration of an area described in paragraph (1); 

15 and 

16 (2) continue to apply the exemptions described 

17 in paragraph (1) after the date on which approval of 

18 the minerals plan of operations described in section 

19 3(4)(B)(ii) for the National Forest System land. 

20 (h) APPLICATION TO EXISTING PERMIT APPLICA21 TIONS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—This section applies to a min23 eral exploration or mine permit for which an appli24 cation was submitted before the date of enactment of 


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1 this Act if the applicant for the permit submits a 

2 written request to the lead agency for the permit. 

3 (2) IMPLEMENTATION.—The lead agency shall 

4 begin implementing this section with respect to an 

5 application described in paragraph (1) not later than 

6 30 days after the date on which the lead agency re7 ceives the written request for the permit. 

8 SEC. 6. FEDERAL REGISTER PROCESS FOR MINERAL EXPLO9 RATION AND MINING PROJECTS. 

10 (a) DEPARTMENTAL REVIEW.—Absent any extraor11 dinary circumstances, as determined by the Secretary of the 

12 Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as applicable, and 

13 except as otherwise required by law, the Secretary of the 

14 Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as applicable, shall 

15 ensure that each Federal Register notice associated with the 

16 issuance of a mineral exploration or mine permit and re17 quired by law shall be— 

18 (1) subject to any required reviews within the 

19 Department of the Interior or the Department of Ag20 riculture, as applicable; and 

21 (2) published in final form in the Federal Reg22 ister not later than 45 days after the date of initial 

23 preparation of the notice. 


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1 (b) PREPARATION.—The preparation of any Federal 

2 Register notice described in subsection (a) shall be delegated 

3 to the organizational level within the lead agency. 

4 (c) TRANSMISSION.—All Federal Register notices de5 scribed in subsection (a) regarding official document avail6 ability, announcements of meetings, or notices of intent to 

7 undertake an action shall originate in, and be transmitted 

8 to the Federal Register from, the office in which, as applica9 ble— 

10 (1) the documents or meetings are held; or 

11 (2) the activity is initiated. 

12 SEC. 7. SECRETARIAL ORDER NOT AFFECTED. 

13 This Act shall not apply to any mineral described in 

14 Secretarial Order 3324, issued by the Secretary of the Inte15 rior on December 3, 2012, in any area to which the order 

16 applies. 


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Union Calendar No. 482 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 520 

[Report No. 115–631] 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Interior and the 

and for other purposes. facturing competitiveness of the United States, to the economic and national security and manueral materials of strategic and critical importance velop domestic sources of the minerals and minSecretary of Agriculture to more efficiently deAPRIL 11, 2018 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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