The House of Representatives on July 12 passed legislation 256 to 169 that would speed development on federal lands of strategic and critical minerals, including aggregates, by limiting review time for drilling permits and requiring concurrent rather than sequential consideration, the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA) reports.

Rep. Mark Amodei (R-Nev.) introduced the bill, H.R. 4402, the National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act. The legislation requires the secretaries of agriculture and the interior to develop domestic sources of minerals of “strategic and critical importance,” NSSGA reports.

According to the text of the bill, this would include “minerals that are necessary…to support domestic manufacturing, agriculture…and transportation infrastructure.”

Click here for a PDF of the text of the National Strategic and Critical Minerals Act of 2012 (H.R. 4402) bill.

For a more detailed report, check out the September 2012 print issue or digital edition (www.aggman.com/digital) of Aggregates Manager.