Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum announced that mining projects that normally have a two-year wait for permitting will be shrunk to as few as 28 days, further advancing President Donald Trump’s agenda to make the U.S. less dependent on foreign suppliers.
He made the announcement Wednesday as the president seeks to fast-track the projects to mine coal, uranium, and other precious minerals.
“The United States cannot afford to wait,” Burgum said in a statement. “President Trump has made it clear that our energy security is national security, and these emergency procedures reflect our unwavering commitment to protecting both.
“We are cutting through unnecessary delays to fast-track the development of American energy and critical minerals—resources that are essential to our economy, our military readiness, and our global competitiveness. By reducing a multi-year permitting process down to just 28 days, the Department will lead with urgency, resolve, and a clear focus on strengthening the nation’s energy independence,” he added.
Some projects have been delayed by permitting processes and lawsuits from left-wing environmental groups for decades, leaving the United States vulnerable and dependent on other nations — some not so friendly — for vital resources, Just the News reported.
Democrats have also regularly opposed expanding U.S. mining operations, especially for coal.
The outlet also noted that a week before the announcement, Trump issued an executive order titled “Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production.”
“Today, the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council) announced increased transparency, accountability, and predictability for the permitting review process for the first wave of critical mineral production projects—with many more projects on the way—in response to President Trump’s Executive Order, Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production. Identifying these transparency projects under the Permitting Council’s statutory program advances the President’s directive to take immediate action to facilitate domestic production of America’s vast mineral resources to create jobs, fuel prosperity, and significantly reduce our reliance on foreign nations,” the press release said.
“This is the first use of the Permitting Council’s transparency authority, and we look forward to showcasing the many benefits the Federal Permitting Dashboard can bring to critical infrastructure projects as part of President Trump’s Executive Order on increasing American mineral production,” Manisha Patel, Acting Executive Director at the Permitting Council said. “The Federal Permitting Dashboard is a vital tool in enhancing interagency coordination and efficient decision making and will play an invaluable role in ensuring that these projects receive the most efficient review and authorization process possible in order to bring the benefits of next generation infrastructure to communities across the nation.”
“In response to the Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production Executive Order, the chair of the National Energy Dominance Council (NEDC) submitted the first in a series of lists of mineral production projects to be identified as transparency projects on the Federal Permitting Dashboard to the Permitting Council Acting Executive Director,” the press release said.
“This is just the beginning—many more projects are expected to be added to the list on a rolling basis over the next few weeks. Inclusion on the Permitting Dashboard as a transparency project makes the environmental review and authorizations schedule for these vital mineral production projects publicly available and allows all of these projects to benefit from increased transparency. The public nature of the dashboard ensures that all stakeholders, from project sponsors and community members to federal agency leaders have up-to-date accounting of where each project stands in the review process. This transparency leads to greater accountability, ensuring a more efficient process,” it said.
The first projects picked for expediting included the Resolution Copper Project, the Stibnite Gold Project, the Warrior Met Coal Mines, the McDermitt Exploration Project, the South West Arkansas Project, the Caldwell Canyon Mine Project, the Libby Exploration Project, and the Lisbon Valley Copper Project, the Silver Peak Lithium Mine and Michigan Potash.