[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1352 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1352
To improve the quality and timeliness of Federal permitting and review
processes with respect to critical mineral production on Federal land,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 22, 2021
Ms. Murkowski (for herself, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Risch, Mr.
Tillis, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Daines, and Mr. Lankford)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve the quality and timeliness of Federal permitting and review
processes with respect to critical mineral production on Federal land,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. CRITICAL MINERALS SUPPLY CHAINS AND RELIABILITY.
(a) Definition of Critical Mineral.--In this section, the term
``critical mineral'' has the meaning given the term in section 7002(a)
of the Energy Act of 2020 (Public Law 116-260; 134 Stat. 2562; 30
U.S.C. 1606(a)).
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) critical minerals are fundamental to the economy,
competitiveness, and security of the United States;
(2) many critical minerals are only economic to recover
when combined with the production of a host mineral;
(3) to the maximum extent practicable, the critical mineral
needs of the United States should be satisfied by minerals
responsibly produced and recycled in the United States; and
(4) the Federal permitting process has been identified as
an impediment to mineral production and the mineral security of
the United States.
(c) Federal Permitting and Review Performance Improvements.--To
improve the quality and timeliness of Federal permitting and review
processes with respect to critical mineral production on Federal land,
the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the
Bureau of Land Management, and the Secretary of Agriculture, acting
through the Chief of the Forest Service (referred to in this section as
the ``Secretaries''), to the maximum extent practicable, shall complete
the Federal permitting and review processes with maximum efficiency and
effectiveness, while supporting vital economic growth, by--
(1) establishing and adhering to timelines and schedules
for the consideration of, and final decisions regarding,
applications, operating plans, leases, licenses, permits, and
other use authorizations for critical mineral-related
activities on Federal land;
(2) establishing clear, quantifiable, and temporal
permitting performance goals and tracking progress against
those goals;
(3) engaging in early collaboration among agencies, project
sponsors, and affected stakeholders--
(A) to incorporate and address the interests of
those parties; and
(B) to minimize delays;
(4) ensuring transparency and accountability by using cost-
effective information technology to collect and disseminate
information regarding individual projects and agency
performance;
(5) engaging in early and active consultation with State,
local, and Tribal governments--
(A) to avoid conflicts or duplication of effort;
(B) to resolve concerns; and
(C) to allow for concurrent, rather than
sequential, reviews;
(6) providing demonstrable improvements in the performance
of Federal permitting and review processes, including lower
costs and more timely decisions;
(7) expanding and institutionalizing Federal permitting and
review process improvements that have proven effective;
(8) developing mechanisms to better communicate priorities
and resolve disputes among agencies at the national, regional,
State, and local levels; and
(9) developing other practices, such as preapplication
procedures.
(d) Review and Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall submit to Congress a
report that--
(1) identifies additional measures, including regulatory
and legislative proposals, if appropriate, that would increase
the timeliness of permitting activities for the exploration and
development of domestic critical minerals;
(2) identifies options, including cost recovery paid by
permit applicants, for ensuring adequate staffing and training
of Federal entities and personnel responsible for the
consideration of applications, operating plans, leases,
licenses, permits, and other use authorizations for critical
mineral-related activities on Federal land;
(3) quantifies the period of time typically required to
complete each step associated with the development and
processing of applications, operating plans, leases, licenses,
permits, and other use authorizations for critical mineral-
related activities on Federal land, including by--
(A) calculating the range, the mean, the median,
the variance, and other statistical measures or
representations of the period of time; and
(B) taking into account other aspects that affect
the period of time that are outside the control of the
Executive branch, such as judicial review, applicant
decisions, or State and local government involvement;
and
(4) describes actions carried out pursuant to subsection
(c).
(e) Performance Metric.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
submission of the report under subsection (d), and after providing
public notice and an opportunity to comment, the Secretaries, using as
a baseline the period of time quantified under paragraph (3) of that
subsection, shall develop and publish a performance metric for
evaluating the progress made by the Executive branch to expedite the
permitting of activities that will increase exploration for, and
development of, domestic critical minerals, while maintaining
environmental standards.
(f) Annual Reports.--Not later than the date on which the President
submits the first budget of the President under section 1105 of title
31, United States Code, after publication of the performance metric
required under subsection (e), and annually thereafter, the Secretaries
shall submit to Congress a report that--
(1) summarizes the implementation of recommendations,
measures, and options identified in paragraphs (1) and (2) of
subsection (d);
(2) using the performance metric developed under subsection
(e), describes progress made by the Executive branch, as
compared to the baseline developed pursuant to subsection
(d)(3), in expediting the permitting of activities that will
increase exploration for, and development of, domestic critical
minerals; and
(3) compares the United States to other countries in terms
of permitting efficiency and any other criteria relevant to the
globally competitive critical minerals industry.
(g) Individual Projects.--Each year, using data contained in the
reports submitted under subsection (f), the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget shall prioritize inclusion of individual critical
mineral projects on the website operated by the Office of Management
and Budget in accordance with section 1122 of title 31, United States
Code.
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