Mining Regulatory Clarity Act
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedAdditional sponsor: Mr. Begich
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the …
Passed House (inferred from eh version)
Mr. Amodei of Nevada (for himself and Mr. Horsford) introduced …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill allows hardrock mining operators to locate multiple mill sites (up to 5 acres each) on public land for waste rock and tailings disposal. It also establishes an Abandoned Hardrock Mine Fund to remediate abandoned mines, funded by claim maintenance fees on new mill sites.
Who Benefits and How
Hardrock mining companies benefit from regulatory clarity allowing them to claim as many mill sites as "reasonably necessary" for their operations. This removes uncertainty about the number of sites that could previously be claimed. Mining equipment and services companies benefit from expanded mining operations.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Mining operators pay claim maintenance fees on new mill sites, which fund abandoned mine cleanup. Environmental groups may view expanded mill site permissions as increasing land use impacts, though savings clauses preserve existing environmental laws (Endangered Species Act, Wilderness Act, etc.).
Key Provisions
- Allows proprietors of lode/placer claims to locate as many mill sites as reasonably necessary for operations
- Each mill site limited to 5 acres, requires approved plan of operations
- Establishes Abandoned Hardrock Mine Fund funded by mill site claim fees
- Fund supports abandoned mine remediation under Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
- Savings clauses preserve all existing environmental protections and land withdrawals
- Mill sites cannot be patented and do not convey mineral rights
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Allows mining operators to locate multiple mill sites on public land for waste rock/tailings disposal, and establishes fund for abandoned mine cleanup from mill site claim fees.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Clarify mining industry ability to use multiple mill sites while preserving environmental protections"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Hardrock mining companies
- Mining operators on federal lands
Likely Burden Bearers
- Mining operators (claim maintenance fees fund abandoned mine cleanup)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "secretary_interior"
- → Secretary of the Interior
- "secretary_agriculture"
- → Secretary of Agriculture
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A location of public land reasonably necessary for waste rock or tailings disposal or other operations reasonably incident to mineral development
Land owned by the United States that is open to location under the general mining laws
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology