text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``National Strategic and Critical 
  Minerals Production Act of 2012''.
  
  SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
  
      Congress finds the following:
              (1) The industrialization of China and India has driven 
          demand for nonfuel mineral commodities, sparking a period of 
          resource nationalism exemplified by China's reduction in 
          exports of rare-earth elements necessary for 
          telecommunications, military technologies, healthcare 
          technologies, and conventional and renewable energy 
          technologies.
              (2) The availability of minerals and mineral materials are 
          essential for economic growth, national security, technological 
          innovation, and the manufacturing and agricultural supply 
          chain.
              (3) The exploration, production, processing, use, and 
          recycling of minerals contribute significantly to the economic 
          well-being, security and general welfare of the Nation.
              (4) The United States has vast mineral resources, but is 
          becoming increasingly dependent upon foreign sources of these 
          mineral materials, as demonstrated by the following:
                      (A) Twenty-five years ago the United States was 
                  dependent on foreign sources for 30 nonfuel mineral 
                  materials, 6 of which the United States imported 100 
                  percent of the Nation's requirements, and for another 
                  16 commodities the United States imported more than 60 
                  percent of the Nation's needs.
                      (B) By 2011 the United States import dependence for 
                  nonfuel mineral materials had more than doubled from 30 
                  to 67 commodities, 19 of which the United States 
                  imported 100 percent of the Nation's requirements, and 
                  for another 24 commodities, imported more than 50 
                  percent of the Nation's needs.
                      (C) The United States share of world wide mineral 
                  exploration dollars was 8 percent in 2011, down from 19 
                  percent in the early 1990s.
                      (D) In the 2012 Ranking of Countries for Mining 
                  Investment, out of 25 major mining countries, the 
                  United States ranked last with Papua New Guinea in 
                  permitting delays, and towards the bottom regarding 
                  government take and social issues affecting mining.
  
  SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
  
      In this Act:
              (1) Strategic and critical minerals.--The term ``strategic 
          and critical minerals'' means minerals that are necessary--
                      (A) for national defense and national security 
                  requirements;
                      (B) for the Nation's energy infrastructure, 
                  including pipelines, refining capacity, electrical 
                  power generation and transmission, and renewable energy 
                  production;
                      (C) to support domestic manufacturing, agriculture, 
                  housing, telecommunications, healthcare, and 
                  transportation infrastructure; and
                      (D) for the Nation's economic security and balance 
                  of trade.
              (2) Agency.--The term ``agency'' means any agency, 
          department, or other unit of Federal, State, local, or tribal 
          government, or Alaska Native Corporation.
              (3) Mineral exploration or mine permit.--The term ``mineral 
          exploration or mine permit'' includes plans of operation issued 
          by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service 
          pursuant to 43 CFR 3809 and 36 CFR 228A respectively.
  
    TITLE I--DEVELOPMENT OF DOMESTIC SOURCES OF STRATEGIC AND CRITICAL 
                                  MINERALS
  
  SEC. 101. IMPROVING DEVELOPMENT OF STRATEGIC AND CRITICAL MINERALS.
  
      Domestic mines that will provide strategic and critical minerals 
  shall be considered an ``infrastructure project'' as described in 
  Presidential Order ``Improving Performance of Federal Permitting and 
  Review of Infrastructure Projects'' dated March 22, 2012.
  
  SEC. 102. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE LEAD AGENCY.
  
      (a) In General.--The lead agency with responsibility for issuing a 
  mineral exploration or mine permit shall appoint a project lead who 
  shall coordinate and consult with other agencies, cooperating agencies, 
  project proponents and contractors to ensure that agencies minimize 
  delays, set and adhere to timelines and schedules for completion of 
  reviews, set clear permitting goals and track progress against those 
  goals.
      (b) The lead agency with responsibility for issuing a mineral 
  exploration or mine permit shall determine any such action would 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 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.
      (c) The lead agency with responsibility for issuing a mineral 
  exploration or mine permit shall enhance government coordination on 
  permitting and review by avoiding duplicative reviews, minimizing 
  paperwork and engaging other agencies and stakeholders early in the 
  process. The lead agency shall consider the following best practices:
              (1) Deferring to and relying upon baseline data, analysis 
          and reviews preformed by State agencies with jurisdiction over 
          the proposed project.
              (2) Conducting reviews concurrently rather than 
          sequentially to the extent practicable and when such concurrent 
          review will expedite rather than delay a decision.
      (d) At the request of a project proponent, the project lead of the 
  agency with responsibility for issuing a mineral exploration or mine 
  permit shall enter into an agreement with the project proponent and 
  other cooperating agencies that sets time limits for each part of the 
  permit review process including the following:
              (1) The decision on whether to prepare a document required 
          under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
              (2) A determination of the scope of any document required 
          under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
              (3) The scope of and schedule for the baseline studies 
          required to prepare a document required under the National 
          Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
              (4) Preparation of any draft document required under the 
          National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
              (5) Preparation of a final document required under the 
          National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
              (6) Consultations required under applicable laws.
              (7) Submission and review of any comments required under 
          applicable law.
              (8) Publication of any public notices required under 
          applicable law.
              (9) A final or any interim decisions.
      (e) In no case should the total review process described in 
  subsection (d) exceed 30 months unless agreed to by the signatories of 
  the agreement.
      (f) The lead agency is not required to address agency or public 
  comments that were not submitted during the public comment periods 
  provided by the lead agency or otherwise required by law.
      (g) The lead agency will determine the amount of financial 
  assurance for reclamation of a mineral exploration or mining site, 
  which must cover the estimated cost if the lead agency were to contract 
  with a third party to reclaim the operations according to the 
  reclamation plan, including construction and maintenance costs for any 
  treatment facilities necessary to meet Federal, State or tribal 
  environmental standards.
      (h) This section shall apply with respect to a mineral exploration 
  or mine permit for which an application was submitted before the date 
  of the enactment of this Act if the applicant for the permit submits a 
  written request to the lead agency for the permit. The lead agency 
  shall begin implementing this section with respect to such application 
  within 30 days after receiving such written request.
      (i) With respect to strategic and critical materials within a 
  federally administered unit of the National Forest System, the lead 
  agency shall--
              (1) exempt all areas of identified mineral resources in 
          Land Use Designations, other than Non-Development Land Use 
          Designations, in existence as of the date of the enactment of 
          this Act from the procedures detailed at and all rules 
          promulgated under part 294 of title 36, Code for Federal 
          Regulations;
              (2) apply such exemption to all additional routes and areas 
          that the lead agency finds necessary to facilitate the 
          construction, operation, maintenance, and restoration of the 
          areas of identified mineral resources described in paragraph 
          (1); and
              (3) continue to apply such exemptions after approval of the 
          Minerals Plan of Operations for the unit of the National Forest 
          System.
  
  SEC. 103. CONSERVATION OF THE RESOURCE.
  
      In developing the mineral exploration or mine permit, the priority 
  of the lead agency shall be to maximize the development of the mineral 
  resource, while mitigating environmental impacts, so that more of the 
  mineral resource can be brought to the market place.
  
  SEC. 104. FEDERAL REGISTER PROCESS FOR MINERAL EXPLORATION AND MINING 
                PROJECTS.
  
      (a) Preparation of Federal Notices for Mineral Exploration and Mine 
  Development Projects.--The preparation of Federal Register notices 
  required by law associated with the issuance of a mineral exploration 
  or mine permit shall be delegated to the organization level within the 
  agency responsible for issuing the mineral exploration or mine permit. 
  All Federal Register notices regarding official document availability, 
  announcements of meetings, or notices of intent to undertake an action 
  shall be originated and transmitted to the Federal Register from the 
  office where documents are held, meetings are held, or the activity is 
  initiated.
      (b) Departmental Review of Federal Register Notices for Mineral 
  Exploration and Mining Projects.--Absent any extraordinary circumstance 
  or except as otherwise required by any Act of Congress, each Federal 
  Register notice described in subsection (a) shall undergo any required 
  reviews within the Department of the Interior or the Department of 
  Agriculture and be published in its final form in the Federal Register 
  no later than 30 days after its initial preparation.
  
  TITLE II--JUDICIAL REVIEW OF AGENCY ACTIONS RELATING TO EXPLORATION AND 
                                MINE PERMITS
  
  SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS FOR TITLE.
  
      In this title the term ``covered civil action'' means a civil 
  action containing a claim under section 702 of title 5, United States 
  Code, regarding agency action affecting a mineral exploration or mine 
  permit.
  
  SEC. 202. TIMELY FILINGS.
  
      A covered civil action is barred unless filed no later than the end 
  of the 60-day period beginning on the date of the final Federal agency 
  action to which it relates.
  
  SEC. 203. EXPEDITION IN HEARING AND DETERMINING THE ACTION.
  
      The court shall endeavor to hear and determine any covered civil 
  action as expeditiously as possible.
  
  SEC. 204. LIMITATION ON PROSPECTIVE RELIEF.
  
      In a covered civil action, the court shall not grant or approve any 
  prospective relief unless the court finds that such relief is narrowly 
  drawn, extends no further than necessary to correct the violation of a 
  legal requirement, and is the least intrusive means necessary to 
  correct that violation.
  
  SEC. 205. LIMITATION ON ATTORNEYS' FEES.
  
      Sections 504 of title 5, United States Code, and 2412 of title 28, 
  United States Code (together commonly called the Equal Access to 
  Justice Act) do not apply to a covered civil action, nor shall any 
  party in such a covered civil action receive payment from the Federal 
  Government for their attorneys' fees, expenses, and other court costs.
  
              Passed the House of Representatives July 12, 2012.
  
              Attest:
  
                                                   KAREN L. HAAS,
  
                                                                   Clerk.
target: National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2012 - Title I: Development of Domestic Sources Of Strategic and Critical Minerals - (Sec. 101) Deems a domestic mine that will provide strategic and critical minerals to be an "infrastructure project" as described in Presidential Order "Improving Performance of Federal Permitting and Review of Infrastructure Projects" dated March 22, 2012.
  
  (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 such action would 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, at a project proponent's request, to enter into an agreement with the project proponent and other cooperating agencies that sets time limits for each part of the permit review process.
  
  Applies this Act to a mineral exploration or mine permit for which an application was submitted before enactment of this Act if the applicant so requests in writing. Requires the lead agency to begin implementing this Act with respect to such application within 30 days after receiving such a request.
  
  Requires the lead agency, with respect to strategic and critical materials within a federally administered unit of the National Forest System, to: (1) exempt from federal regulations governing Special Areas all areas of identified mineral resources in Land Use Designations (other than Non-Development Land Use Designations); (2) apply such exemption to all additional routes and areas that the agency finds necessary to facilitate the construction, operation, maintenance, and restoration of the areas of the identified mineral resources; and (3) continue to apply such exemptions after approval of the Minerals Plan of Operations for the unit.
  
  (Sec. 103) Declares the priority of the lead agency is to maximize mineral resource development while mitigating environmental impacts, so that more of the mineral resource can be brought to the market place.
  
  (Sec. 104) Prescribes the Federal Register notice process for mineral exploration and mining projects.
  
  Title II: Judicial Review Of Agency Actions Relating To Exploration And Mine Permits - (Sec. 202) Bars a civil action claiming legal wrong caused by an agency action unless it is filed by the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date of the final federal agency action to which it relates.
  
  (Sec. 203) Requires the court to hear and determine any covered civil action as expeditiously as possible.
  
  (Sec. 204) Prohibits the court, in a covered civil action, from granting or approving prospective relief unless it finds that such relief is narrowly drawn, extends no further than necessary to correct the violation of a legal requirement, and is the least intrusive means necessary to correct such violation.
  
  (Sec. 205) Declares inapplicable to such a civil action specified requirements of the Equal Access to Justice Act relating to award of costs and fees to a prevailing plaintiff.
  
  Prohibits payment from the federal government for court costs of a party in such a civil action, including attorneys' fees and expenses.
feat_title: To require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to more efficiently develop domestic sources of the minerals and mineral materials of strategic and critical importance to United States economic and national security and manufacturing competitiveness.