Amodei wins House passage of mining bill
WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday approved legislation supported by the Nevada delegation, who say it would speed regulatory approval of mining operations for gold, silver, copper and other "strategic and critical" minerals.
Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., who introduced the bill, said a 30-month time limit on the approval process as well as limits on judicial review are needed to ensure that new mining operations can get to work providing a domestic source of minerals that are needed for everything from computer chips to concrete.
The bill is strongly opposed by the Obama administration, which issued a statement earlier this week saying it would undermine sound federal decision-making by eliminating appropriate reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act. The administration also said it opposes the bill's severe restrictions on judicial review.
Amodei discounted some of the opposition, saying that the average review is now 36 months. The problem comes when projects are unnecessarily delayed — in some cases for years — by opponents whose objective is to stall until investors decide to drop the mining projects, he said.
The bill was approved, 254-177, largely along party lines. No Republican opposed it, while eight Democrats — including Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev. — voted in favor. It now goes to the Senate, where approval is doubtful.
Rep. Alan Lowenthal, D-Calif., spoke against the bill, saying that virtually every mineral would qualify as "strategic and critical" under the legislation and that the permitting process for all of them would be skewed to prioritize mineral production over every other potential use of the land, including hunting, grazing and conservation.
Rep. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., argued that the bill is needed to ensure that there are sources for rare earth minerals outside of China, which controls about 80 percent of the production of such minerals which are needed for batteries, computer chips and display screens.
Contact Peter Urban at purban@reviewjournal.com or at 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @PUrbanDC.
