The bill did have the support of 15 Democrats, passing in a 246-178 vote.
Supporters say the legislation is necessary to ensure the U.S. has domestic sources of strategic minerals.
The National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act deems a domestic mine that will provide strategic and critical minerals to be an “infrastructure project” as described in the Presidential Order “Improving Performance of Federal Permitting and Review of Infrastructure Projects.”
The bill reads:
(Sec. 102) Sets forth the responsibilities of the lead agency (federal, state, local, tribal, or Alaska Native Corporation) with responsibility for issuing a mineral exploration or mine permit with respect to project coordination, agency consultation, project proponents, contractors, and the status and scope of any environmental impact statement.
Requires the lead agency to determine that any action to approve an exploration or mine permit does 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 (NEPA) 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.
Requires the lead agency’s project lead, upon request of a project proponent, to enter into an agreement with the project proponent and other cooperating agencies that sets time limits for each part of the permitting process.
Republicans say the bill is needed because the federal government has been known to hold up mining permits for several years. Such actions have forced the United States to rely on imported strategic minerals for defense and other applications, according to Roll Call.
“Burdensome of red tape, duplicative reviews, frivolous lawsuits and onerous regulations can hold up new mining projects here in the U.S. for more than 10 years,” said House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.). “These unnecessary delays cost American jobs as we become more and more dependent on foreign countries for these raw ingredients.
“As China continues to tighten global supplies of rare earth elements, we should respond with an American mineral mining renaissance that will bring mining and manufacturing jobs back to America.”
The bill gives federal agencies just 30 months to decide on whether to approve or reject permits for exploration and mining. The bill also limits the ability of parties to use the courts to stop mining.
Both Raul Grijalva and Rob Barber receive considerable campaign support from the pecan growers who oppose Rosemont. The pecan growers in Southern Arizona use 8000 gallons of water to harvest 1 lb of pecans while Rosemont will use 8 gallons of water to harvest 1 lb of copper.