I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 209 

To improve the permitting process for mining on Federal land, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 9, 2023 

Mr. STAUBER (for himself, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mr. CRENSHAW, Mrs. BOEBERT, 

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. FINSTAD, Mr. OWENS, Mr. 

MCCLINTOCK, Mrs. FISCHBACH, Mr. STEWART, Ms. TENNEY, Mr. 

OBERNOLTE, Mr. BENTZ, Mr. RESCHENTHALER, Mr. FULCHER, and Mr. 

EMMER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, 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 improve the permitting process for mining on Federal 

land, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Permitting for Mining 

5 Needs Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) BYPRODUCT.—The term ‘‘byproduct’’ has 

2 the meaning given such term in section 7002(a) of 

3 the Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606(a)). 

4 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

5 has the meaning given such term in section 4 of the 

6 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

7 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

8 (3) MINERAL.—The term ‘‘mineral’’ means any 

9 mineral of a kind that is locatable (including, but 

10 not limited to, such minerals located on ‘‘lands ac11 quired by the United States’’, as such term is de12 fined in section 2 of the Mineral Leasing Act for Ac13 quired Lands) under the Act of May 10, 1872 

14 (Chapter 152; 17 Stat. 91). 

15 (4) SECRETARY.—Except as otherwise provided, 

16 the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the In17 terior. 

18 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

19 (A) a State; 

20 (B) the District of Columbia; 

21 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

22 (D) Guam; 

23 (E) American Samoa; 

24 (F) the Commonwealth of the Northern 

25 Mariana Islands; and 


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1 (G) the United States Virgin Islands. 

2 SEC. 3. MINERALS SUPPLY CHAIN AND RELIABILITY. 

3 Section 40206 of the Infrastructure Investment and 

4 Jobs Act (30 U.S.C. 1607) is amended— 

5 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘CRIT6 ICAL MINERALS’’ and inserting ‘‘MINERALS’’; 

7 (2) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol8 lows: 

9 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 ‘‘(1) LEAD AGENCY.—The term ‘lead agency’ 

11 means the Federal agency with primary responsi12 bility for issuing a mineral exploration or mine per13 mit or lease for a mineral project. 

14 ‘‘(2) MINERAL.—The term ‘mineral’ has the 

15 meaning given such term in section 2 of the Permit16 ting for Mining Needs Act of 2023. 

17 ‘‘(3) MINERAL EXPLORATION OR MINE PER18 MIT.—The term ‘mineral exploration or mine permit’ 

19 means— 

20 ‘‘(A) an authorization of the Bureau of 

21 Land Management or the Forest Service, as ap22 plicable, for exploration for minerals that re23 quires analysis under the National Environ24 mental Policy Act of 1969; 


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1 ‘‘(B) a plan of operations for a mineral 

2 project approved by the Bureau of Land Man3 agement or the Forest Service; or 

4 ‘‘(C) any other Federal permit or author5 ization for a mineral project. 

6 ‘‘(4) MINERAL PROJECT.—The term ‘mineral 

7 project’ means a project— 

8 ‘‘(A) located on— 

9 ‘‘(i) a mining claim, millsite claim, or 

10 tunnel site claim for any mineral; 

11 ‘‘(ii) lands open to mineral entry; or 

12 ‘‘(iii) a Federal mineral lease; and 

13 ‘‘(B) for the purposes of exploring for or 

14 producing minerals.’’; 

15 (3) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘critical’’ each 

16 place such term appears; 

17 (4) in subsection (c)— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘critical mineral production 

19 on Federal land’’ and inserting ‘‘mineral 

20 projects’’; 

21 (B) by inserting ‘‘, and in accordance with 

22 subsection (h)’’ after ‘‘to the maximum extent 

23 practicable’’; 

24 (C) by striking ‘‘shall complete the’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘shall complete such’’; 


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1 (D) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘critical 

2 mineral-related activities on Federal land’’ and 

3 inserting ‘‘mineral projects’’; 

4 (E) in paragraph (8), by striking the 

5 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

6 (F) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘proce7 dures.’’ and inserting ‘‘procedures; and’’; and 

8 (G) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(10) deferring to and relying on baseline data, 

10 analyses, and reviews performed by State agencies 

11 with jurisdiction over the environmental or reclama12 tion permits for the proposed mineral project.’’; 

13 (5) in subsection (d)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘critical’’ each place such 

15 term appears; and 

16 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘mineral17 related activities on Federal land’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘mineral projects’’; 

19 (6) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘critical’’; 

20 (7) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘critical’’ each 

21 place such term appears; 

22 (8) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘critical’’ each 

23 place such term appears; and 

24 (9) by adding at the end the following: 

25 ‘‘(h) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT.—For pur2 poses of maximizing efficiency and effectiveness of 

3 the Federal permitting and review processes de4 scribed under subsection (c), the lead agency in the 

5 Federal permitting and review processes of a min6 eral project shall (in consultation with any other 

7 Federal agency involved in such Federal permitting 

8 and review processes, and upon request of the 

9 project applicant, an affected State government, 

10 local government, or an Indian Tribe, or other entity 

11 such lead agency determines appropriate) enter into 

12 a memorandum of agreement with a project appli13 cant where requested by applicant to carry out the 

14 activities described in subsection (c). 

15 ‘‘(2) TIMELINES AND SCHEDULES FOR NEPA

16 REVIEWS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) DEADLINES.—Any timelines or 

18 schedules established under subsection (c)(1) 

19 relating to a review under section 102(2)(C) of 

20 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

21 shall require that the review process not ex22 ceed— 

23 ‘‘(i) 12 months for an environmental 

24 assessment; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) 24 months for an environmental 

2 impact statement. 

3 ‘‘(B) EXTENSION.—A project applicant 

4 may enter into 1 or more agreements with a 

5 lead agency to extend the deadlines described in 

6 clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A) by, 

7 with respect to each such agreement, not more 

8 than 6 months. 

9 ‘‘(C) ADJUSTMENT OF TIMELINES.—At the 

10 request of a project applicant, the lead agency 

11 and any other entity which is a signatory to a 

12 memorandum of agreement under paragraph 

13 (1) may, by unanimous agreement, adjust— 

14 ‘‘(i) any deadlines described in sub15 paragraph (A); and 

16 ‘‘(ii) any deadlines extended under 

17 subparagraph (B). 

18 ‘‘(3) DOCUMENT PREPARED BY PROJECT APPLI19 CANT.—The lead agency with respect to a mineral 

20 project may adopt an environmental impact state21 ment or environmental assessment prepared by or 

22 for a project applicant with respect to such project 

23 if such document fulfills the requirements of section 

24 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act 

25 of 1969. 


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1 ‘‘(4) EFFECT ON PENDING APPLICATIONS.— 

2 Upon a written request by a project applicant, the 

3 requirements of this subsection shall apply to any 

4 application for a mineral exploration or mine permit 

5 or mineral lease that was submitted before the date 

6 of the enactment of the Permitting for Mining 

7 Needs Act of 2023.’’. 

8 SEC. 4. FEDERAL REGISTER PROCESS IMPROVEMENT. 

9 Section 7002(f) of the Energy Act of 2020 (30 

10 U.S.C. 1606(f)) is amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘critical’’ both 

12 places such term appears; and 

13 (2) by striking paragraph (4). 

14 SEC. 5. DESIGNATION OF MINING AS A COVERED SECTOR 

15 FOR FEDERAL PERMITTING IMPROVEMENT 

16 PURPOSES. 

17 Section 41001(6)(A) of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 

18 4370m(6)(A)) is amended by inserting ‘‘minerals produc19 tion,’’ before ‘‘or any other sector’’. 

20 SEC. 6. TREATMENT OF ACTIONS UNDER PRESIDENTIAL 

21 DETERMINATION 2022–11 FOR FEDERAL PER22 MITTING IMPROVEMENT PURPOSES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided by subsection 

24 (c), an action described in subsection (b) shall be— 


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1 (1) treated as a covered project, as defined in 

2 section 41001(6) of the Fixing America’s Surface 

3 Transportation Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m(6)), without 

4 regard to the requirements of that section; and 

5 (2) included in the Permitting Dashboard main6 tained pursuant to section 41003(b) of that Act (42 

7 13 U.S.C. 4370m–2(b)). 

8 (b) ACTIONS DESCRIBED.—An action described in 

9 this subsection is an action taken by the Secretary of De10 fense pursuant to Presidential Determination 2022–11 

11 (87 Fed. Reg. 19775; relating to certain actions under 

12 section 303 of the Defense Production Act of 1950) to 

13 create, maintain, protect, expand, or restore sustainable 

14 and responsible domestic production capabilities 

15 through— 

16 (1) supporting feasibility studies for mature 

17 mining, beneficiation, and value-added processing 

18 projects; 

19 (2) byproduct and co-product production at ex20 isting mining, mine waste reclamation, and other in21 dustrial facilities; 

22 (3) modernization of mining, beneficiation, and 

23 value-added processing to increase productivity, envi24 ronmental sustainability, and workforce safety; or 


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1 (4) any other activity authorized under section 

2 303(a)(1) of the Defense Production Act of 1950 15 

3 (50 U.S.C. 4533(a)(1)). 

4 (c) EXCEPTION.—An action described in subsection 

5 (b) may not be treated as a covered project or be included 

6 in the Permitting Dashboard under subsection (a) if the 

7 project sponsor (as defined in section 41001(18) of the 

8 Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (42 U.S.C. 

9 4370m(18))) requests that the action not be treated as 

10 a covered project. 

11 SEC. 7. MINERAL EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES WITH LIMITED 

12 SURFACE DISTURBANCE. 

13 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, not later 

14 than 15 calendar days after receiving a notice in such 

15 time, place, and manner as the applicable Secretary deter16 mines appropriate describing the exploration activities and 

17 subsequent reclamation activities, the Secretary of the In18 terior with respect to lands administered by the Secretary, 

19 and the Secretary of Agriculture with respect to National 

20 Forest System lands, shall— 

21 (1) review and determine completeness of the 

22 notice; and 

23 (2) allow mineral exploration activities other 

24 than casual use to proceed if— 


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1 (A) the surface disturbance on Federal 

2 land will not exceed 5 acres; 

3 (B) the Secretary determines that the no4 tice is complete; and 

5 (C) financial assurance is provided. 

6 SEC. 8. USE OF MINING CLAIMS FOR ANCILLARY ACTIVI7 TIES. 

8 Section 10101 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation 

9 Act of 1993 (30 U.S.C. 28f) is amended by adding at the 

10 end the following: 

11 ‘‘(e) SECURITY OF TENURE.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A claimant shall have 

14 the right to use, occupy, and conduct operations 

15 on public land, with or without the discovery of 

16 a valuable mineral deposit, if— 

17 ‘‘(i) such claimant makes a timely 

18 payment of the location fee required by 

19 section 10102 and the claim maintenance 

20 fee required by subsection (a); or 

21 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a claimant who 

22 qualifies for a waiver under subsection (d), 

23 such claimant makes a timely payment of 

24 the location fee and complies with the reVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:40 Feb 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H209.IH H209

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1 quired assessment work under the general 

2 mining laws. 

3 ‘‘(B) OPERATIONS DEFINED.—For the 

4 purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘oper5 ations’ means— 

6 ‘‘(i) any activity or work carried out 

7 in connection with prospecting, exploration, 

8 processing, discovery and assessment, de9 velopment, or extraction with respect to a 

10 locatable mineral; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the reclamation of an area dis12 turbed by an activity described in subpara13 graph (A); and 

14 ‘‘(iii) any activity reasonably incident 

15 to an activity described in subparagraphs 

16 (A) or (B), whether on a mining claim or 

17 not, including the construction and mainte18 nance of facilities, roads, transmission 

19 lines, pipelines, and any other necessary 

20 infrastructure or means of access on public 

21 land. 

22 ‘‘(2) FULFILLMENT OF FEDERAL LAND POLICY

23 AND MANAGEMENT ACT.—A claimant that fulfills 

24 the requirements of this section and section 10102 

25 shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements of any 


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1 provision of the Federal Land Policy and Manage2 ment Act that requires the payment of fair market 

3 value to the United States for use of public lands 

4 and resources relating to use of such lands and re5 sources authorized by the general mining laws. 

6 ‘‘(3) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this sub7 section may be construed to diminish— 

8 ‘‘(A) the rights of entry, use, and occu9 pancy of a claimant under the general mining 

10 laws; or 

11 ‘‘(B) the rights of a claimant under the 

12 general mining laws.’’. 

13 SEC. 9. ENSURING CONSIDERATION OF URANIUM AS A 

14 CRITICAL MINERAL. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7002(a)(3)(B)(i) of the 

16 Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606(a)(3)(B)(i)) is 

17 amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(i) oil, oil shale, coal, or natural 

19 gas;’’. 

20 (b) UPDATE.—Not later than 60 days after the date 

21 of the enactment of this section, the Secretary, acting 

22 through the Director of the United States Geological Sur23 vey, shall publish in the Federal Register an update to 

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1 ergy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606(c)(3)) in accordance 

2 with subsection (a) of this section. 

3 SEC. 10. LIMITATION ON JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi5 sion of law, a claim arising under Federal law seeking ju6 dicial review of a permit, license, or approval issued by 

7 a Federal lead agency for a mining project shall be barred 

8 unless it is filed not later than 120 days after the permit, 

9 license, or approval is final pursuant to the law under 

10 which the agency action is taken, unless a shorter time 

11 is specified in the Federal law pursuant to which judicial 

12 review is allowed. 

13 (b) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section shall 

14 create a right to judicial review or place any limit on filing 

15 a claim that a person has violated the terms of a permit, 

16 license, or approval. 

Æ 


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