WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, joined his colleagues in a letter to the Executive Director of the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (FPISC), Eric Beightel, expressing concerns regarding the proposed rule, "Revising Scope of the Mining Sector of Projects That Are Eligible for Coverage Under Title 41 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act.”

The senators requested FPISC to abandon this proposal and use its existing authority to actively support all mining infrastructure projects to unleash America's national supply chains and processing capabilities.

“The mining of all minerals is essential to the development of domestic infrastructure, and accordingly, it is imperative the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (FPISC) ensure that all mining projects – for all minerals – are equally considered “covered projects” for the purposes of Title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41),” the senators wrote. “FPISC’s proposal sends the wrong message to investors, industry stakeholders, and our nation’s allies by that the United States should drastically limit the type of mining projects eligible under the improved permitting process to projects with primary or byproduct production of "critical minerals," defined by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).”

“Not only does this subjective action contradict the FPISC's mission of delivering transparency and timeliness to the federal permitting process, but it also fails to consider the fact that different agencies have different definitions of “critical” or “strategic” minerals or materials,” the senators continued. “The lack of consideration of these varying differences in the proposal will undoubtedly limit the effectiveness of FPISC’s actions and increase our nation’s strategic vulnerabilities by making the United States more dependent on foreign sources of minerals. Ultimately, this proposal will hinder mining permitting predictability and efficiency while further empowering China with its near-monopoly on the global supply of critical minerals.”

Additional cosigners include U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan (R-AK), John Barrasso (R-WY), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), James Lankford (R-OK), Michael Lee (R-UT), James Risch (R-ID), Roger Marshall (R-KS), John Hoeven (R-ND), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Katie Boyd Britt (R-AL), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK).

Click here to read the letter.

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