Permitting for Mining Needs Act of 2023

To improve the permitting process for mining on Federal land, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Permitting for Mining Needs Act of 2023 2. Definitions In this Act: (1) Byproduct The term byproduct 30 U.S.C. 1606(a) (2) Indian tribe The term Indian Tribe 25 U.S.C. 5304 (3) Mineral The term mineral lands acquired by the United States (4) Secretary Except as otherwise provided, the term Secretary (5) State The term State (A) a State; (B) the District of Columbia; (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; (D) Guam; (E) American Samoa; (F) the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; and (G) the United States Virgin Islands. 3. Minerals supply chain and reliability Section 40206 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act ( 30 U.S.C. 1607 (1) in the section heading, by striking Critical minerals Minerals (2) by amending subsection (a) to read as follows: (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Lead agency The term lead agency (2) Mineral The term mineral Permitting for Mining Needs Act of 2023 (3) Mineral exploration or mine permit The term mineral exploration or mine permit (A) an authorization of the Bureau of Land Management or the Forest Service, as applicable, for exploration for minerals that requires analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969; (B) a plan of operations for a mineral project approved by the Bureau of Land Management or the Forest Service; or (C) any other Federal permit or authorization for a mineral project. (4) Mineral project The term mineral project (A) located on— (i) a mining claim, millsite claim, or tunnel site claim for any mineral; (ii) lands open to mineral entry; or (iii) a Federal mineral lease; and (B) for the purposes of exploring for or producing minerals. ; (3) in subsection (b), by striking critical (4) in subsection (c)— (A) by striking critical mineral production on Federal land mineral projects (B) by inserting , and in accordance with subsection (h) to the maximum extent practicable (C) by striking shall complete the shall complete such (D) in paragraph (1), by striking critical mineral-related activities on Federal land mineral projects (E) in paragraph (8), by striking the and (F) in paragraph (9), by striking procedures. procedures; and (G) by adding at the end the following: (10) deferring to and relying on baseline data, analyses, and reviews performed by State agencies with jurisdiction over the environmental or reclamation permits for the proposed mineral project. ; (5) in subsection (d)— (A) by striking critical (B) in paragraph (3), by striking mineral-related activities on Federal land mineral projects (6) in subsection (e), by striking critical (7) in subsection (f), by striking critical (8) in subsection (g), by striking critical (9) by adding at the end the following: (h) Other requirements (1) Memorandum of agreement For purposes of maximizing efficiency and effectiveness of the Federal permitting and review processes described under subsection (c), the lead agency in the Federal permitting and review processes of a mineral project shall (in consultation with any other Federal agency involved in such Federal permitting and review processes, and upon request of the project applicant, an affected State government, local government, or an Indian Tribe, or other entity such lead agency determines appropriate) enter into a memorandum of agreement with a project applicant where requested by applicant to carry out the activities described in subsection (c). (2) Timelines and schedules for NEPA reviews (A) Deadlines Any timelines or schedules established under subsection (c)(1) relating to a review under section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 shall require that the review process not exceed— (i) 12 months for an environmental assessment; and (ii) 24 months for an environmental impact statement. (B) Extension A project applicant may enter into 1 or more agreements with a lead agency to extend the deadlines described in clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A) by, with respect to each such agreement, not more than 6 months. (C) Adjustment of timelines At the request of a project applicant, the lead agency and any other entity which is a signatory to a memorandum of agreement under paragraph (1) may, by unanimous agreement, adjust— (i) any deadlines described in subparagraph (A); and (ii) any deadlines extended under subparagraph (B). (3) Document prepared by project applicant The lead agency with respect to a mineral project may adopt an environmental impact statement or environmental assessment prepared by or for a project applicant with respect to such project if such document fulfills the requirements of section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. (4) Effect on pending applications Upon a written request by a project applicant, the requirements of this subsection shall apply to any application for a mineral exploration or mine permit or mineral lease that was submitted before the date of the enactment of the Permitting for Mining Needs Act of 2023 . 4. Federal register process improvement Section 7002(f) of the Energy Act of 2020 ( 30 U.S.C. 1606(f) (1) in paragraph (2), by striking critical (2) by striking paragraph (4). 5. Designation of mining as a covered sector for Federal permitting improvement purposes Section 41001(6)(A) of the FAST Act ( 42 U.S.C. 4370m(6)(A) minerals production, or any other sector 6. Treatment of actions under presidential determination 2022–11 for Federal permitting improvement purposes (a) In general Except as provided by subsection (c), an action described in subsection (b) shall be— (1) treated as a covered project, as defined in section 41001(6) of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act ( 42 U.S.C. 4370m(6) (2) included in the Permitting Dashboard maintained pursuant to section 41003(b) of that Act (42 13 U.S.C. 4370m–2(b) (b) Actions described An action described in this subsection is an action taken by the Secretary of Defense pursuant to Presidential Determination 2022–11 (87 Fed. Reg. 19775; relating to certain actions under section 303 of the Defense Production Act of 1950) to create, maintain, protect, expand, or restore sustainable and responsible domestic production capabilities through— (1) supporting feasibility studies for mature mining, beneficiation, and value-added processing projects; (2) byproduct and co-product production at existing mining, mine waste reclamation, and other industrial facilities; (3) modernization of mining, beneficiation, and value-added processing to increase productivity, environmental sustainability, and workforce safety; or (4) any other activity authorized under section 303(a)(1) of the Defense Production Act of 1950 15 ( 50 U.S.C. 4533(a)(1) (c) Exception An action described in subsection (b) may not be treated as a covered project or be included in the Permitting Dashboard under subsection (a) if the project sponsor (as defined in section 41001(18) of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act ( 42 U.S.C. 4370m(18) 7. Mineral exploration activities with limited surface disturbance Notwithstanding any other provision of law, not later than 15 calendar days after receiving a notice in such time, place, and manner as the applicable Secretary determines appropriate describing the exploration activities and subsequent reclamation activities, the Secretary of the Interior with respect to lands administered by the Secretary, and the Secretary of Agriculture with respect to National Forest System lands, shall— (1) review and determine completeness of the notice; and (2) allow mineral exploration activities other than casual use to proceed if— (A) the surface disturbance on Federal land will not exceed 5 acres; (B) the Secretary determines that the notice is complete; and (C) financial assurance is provided. 8. Use of mining claims for ancillary activities Section 10101 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 ( 30 U.S.C. 28f (e) Security of tenure (1) In general (A) In general A claimant shall have the right to use, occupy, and conduct operations on public land, with or without the discovery of a valuable mineral deposit, if— (i) such claimant makes a timely payment of the location fee required by section 10102 and the claim maintenance fee required by subsection (a); or (ii) in the case of a claimant who qualifies for a waiver under subsection (d), such claimant makes a timely payment of the location fee and complies with the required assessment work under the general mining laws. (B) Operations defined For the purposes of this paragraph, the term operations (i) any activity or work carried out in connection with prospecting, exploration, processing, discovery and assessment, development, or extraction with respect to a locatable mineral; (ii) the reclamation of an area disturbed by an activity described in subparagraph (A); and (iii) any activity reasonably incident to an activity described in subparagraphs (A) or (B), whether on a mining claim or not, including the construction and maintenance of facilities, roads, transmission lines, pipelines, and any other necessary infrastructure or means of access on public land. (2) Fulfillment of Federal Land Policy and Management Act A claimant that fulfills the requirements of this section and section 10102 shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements of any provision of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act that requires the payment of fair market value to the United States for use of public lands and resources relating to use of such lands and resources authorized by the general mining laws. (3) Savings clause Nothing in this subsection may be construed to diminish— (A) the rights of entry, use, and occupancy of a claimant under the general mining laws; or (B) the rights of a claimant under the general mining laws. . 9. Ensuring consideration of uranium as a critical mineral (a) In general Section 7002(a)(3)(B)(i) of the Energy Act of 2020 ( 30 U.S.C. 1606(a)(3)(B)(i) (i) oil, oil shale, coal, or natural gas; . (b) Update Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary, acting through the Director of the United States Geological Survey, shall publish in the Federal Register an update to the final list established in section 7002(c)(3) of the Energy Act of 2020 ( 30 U.S.C. 1606(c)(3) 10. Limitation on judicial review (a) In general Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a claim arising under Federal law seeking judicial review of a permit, license, or approval issued by a Federal lead agency for a mining project shall be barred unless it is filed not later than 120 days after the permit, license, or approval is final pursuant to the law under which the agency action is taken, unless a shorter time is specified in the Federal law pursuant to which judicial review is allowed. (b) Savings clause Nothing in this section shall create a right to judicial review or place any limit on filing a claim that a person has violated the terms of a permit, license, or approval.

Summary: Permitting for Mining Needs Act of 2023 This bill expedites the review of mining projects on federal lands and limits judicial review of mining projects. For example, the bill expands the federal permitting and review processes under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for critical minerals. Under the act, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service, to the maximum extent practicable, must complete the federal permitting and review processes related to critical mineral mines on federal lands with maximum efficiency and effectiveness. This bill expands this process to include all minerals as defined by the bill, not only critical minerals. The bill also establishes deadlines for completing the review of mining projects under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. In addition, the bill also expands the meaning of covered projects under the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act to include (1) certain mineral production projects, and (2) certain actions taken by the Department of Defense. Such projects qualify for expedited environmental review. It also establishes requirements to expedite the review or authorization of certain mineral projects, such as (1) mineral exploration activities with a surface disturbance of no more than five acres of public lands, (2) ancillary mining activities, and (3) uranium projects. Finally, the bill limits judicial review of a permit, license, or approval issued by a lead agency for a mining project by requiring the filing of claims within a certain time period.