NPCA submitted the following positions to members of the House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources ahead of a hearing scheduled for February 24, 2026.
NPCA understands the importance of developing robust, responsible and resilient domestic supply chains for minerals. Clean energy, national security and infrastructure all rely on various minerals. However, the existing framework for managing mining exploration and development on our public lands is not up to the modern standards needed to reduce conflict with the continued protection of the natural, cultural and historic resources of the National Park System. Under the mining law of 1872 and the overlying regulatory landscape, multi-national mining corporations and speculators have near unlimited access to public land. This system, designed for the pick and shovel miner of the California gold rush, hands the responsibility of managing public lands over to companies looking to profit from them without providing for any fair return to Americans.
On top of the antiquated regulatory framework, the current administration has reduced environmental and historical resource review timelines, reduced opportunity for public input, directed agencies to prioritize large swathes of public lands for mineral development, cut vital staffing at agencies, directed agencies to expedite approval for mineral projects and even promoted speculative mineral exploration development inside of a national park.
H.R.4781 - the Rare Earth Solutions and Carbon Utilization Enhancement Act of 2025: NPCA supports the intent of this legislation, which aims to support the efficient permitting of projects to extract critical minerals from historic and existing mining waste piles. However, we have concerns about the way the bill is currently written and the potential for the bill to legislatively add new coal mining projects to FAST-41 under the banner of “critical mineral extraction.” We believe that there is significant opportunity for the United States to better analyze potential critical mineral deposits in existing mine waste, including in historic coal mining waste. We hope to work with the bill sponsors and the committee to improve the bill by providing clarity about the types of projects eligible. Additionally, we hope to work with the bill sponsors to identify opportunities to prioritize more mining from waste piles instead of opening new mines on sensitive public lands.
H.R.7126 - the Securing Essential and Critical U.S. Resources and Elements (SECURE) Minerals Act: NPCA has concerns with this legislation, which would establish a Critical Minerals Reserve to carry out market-related activities and investments in critical minerals and materials in the U.S. and partner countries. The bill establishes the Reserve as a government corporation with authorities to shape and control mineral markets. Moreover, the Reserve has additional powers that are currently held by federal agencies and departments, including the authority to issue rules, regulations and orders; to purchase land or interests in land for related facilities; and to enter into contracts. Relevant federal agencies are relegated to advisory and consultatory roles to the Reserve. The Reserve would be financed with an initial $2.5 billion of U.S. taxpayer dollars and managed by a President-appointed Board. It lacks measures for adequate enforcement of strong labor and environmental standards, public transparency or meaningful congressional oversight. Additionally, this legislation would be another investment in domestic mining while the mining industry still does not pay back the taxpayer for the resources extracted from public lands. We hope to work with the bill sponsors to improve investments in domestic mineral supply chains while establishing clear guardrails and a fair return to the American public.
H.R.7458 - To codify notice requirements for mineral exploration activities on certain public lands, and for other purposes: NPCA opposes this legislation, which would legislatively apply the Bureau of Land Management’s notice-level requirements for mining exploration projects on public lands to the U.S. Forest Service. Right now, mining companies can carry out exploration activities on Bureau of Land Management lands with fewer than 5 acres of disturbance by simply filing a notice with the agency. This notice allows road construction, drilling, blasting, sampling and the use of mining equipment. Even a 5‑acre disturbance can have serious impacts depending on what resources are affected. These activities can significantly disrupt wildlife, nearby communities and even vital water sources.
The bill also expands the maximum area of surface disturbance for exploration activities from the current 5 acres to 25 acres of disturbance at any given time. This five-fold increase in the allowable area of disturbance would allow speculative mining companies to set up drilling rigs and mining roads across an area equal in size to almost 19 football fields. Because these notice‑level activities are exempt from public review under NEPA and the National Historic Preservation Act, the public has no opportunity to raise concerns or support. Increasing the disturbance limit far beyond 5 acres would open larger areas of public land to exploratory development without any analysis of potential impacts, consultation with adjacent land mangers or public involvement.
Each of these exploratory projects may pose various threats to ecological and cultural resources. In Nevada, local community opposition has pushed back against proposed lithium exploration drilling around the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. The proposed notice-level activities would threaten the subsurface water that flows across the state border into Death Valley National Park.
