On Thursday, November 30, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3905, the "Minnesota's Economic Rights in the Superior National Forest Act," on a close vote 216-204. The bill represents a simple fix to the past Administration's overreach, in which the government abruptly elected not to renew longstanding mining leases in Minnesota's Superior Forest. The vote was a reassertion of Congress' Article IV Constitutional powers entailing discretion over federal land, and was in keeping with two prior Congressional authorizations for mining in the same area as well as the repeated recommendation of the U.S. Forest Service that mining take place there. 

Western Caucus members were instrumental in the victory. The bill's sponsor, Congressman Tom Emmer, is a valued member of the Caucus; further, Caucus Chairman Paul Gosar was chosen to testify in favor of the bill before the Rules Committee on Tuesday, November 28. There, he was successful in advocating that the bill receive a structured rule and be put before the House.  

Chairman Paul A. Gosar D.D.S. (AZ-04), House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop (UT-01), Chief Forestry Officer Bruce Westerman (AR-04), House Republican Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05), Western Caucus Members Tom Emmer (MN-06), Doug LaMalfa (CA-01), Doug Lamborn (CO-05), and Congressman Jason Lewis (MN-02) issued statements following passage of H.R. 3905, some of which are below:

"Mining has been a way of life for Minnesota since the 1800s and is a crucial part of our state’s economy. Unfortunately, this was not a shared interest with the Obama Administration," said Congressman Emmer. "In their waning days, the previous administration took unnecessary, politically motivated actions by refusing to renew mineral leases and starting the process to withdraw nearly a quarter million acres of federal land from development. By passing the MINER Act today, we are protecting more than 10,000 jobs, and billions of dollars in revenue and education funding while leaving an extensive process intact to protect and preserve the environment and our beloved Boundary Waters."

“I thank Rep. Emmer for his leadership on this issue and commitment to protecting the economic livelihoods of his constituents. This bill protects jobs for Minnesotans while facilitating future economic opportunities across the state through responsible, environmentally sound mineral development,” Congressman Bishop said.  

"17,000 jobs, $3 billion for education, $1.5 billion in annual wages, $2.5 billion annually for our economy and a total of four billion tons of strategic-and-critical-mineral-containing ore – this is what is at risk if H.R. 3905 is not signed into law. Left unchallenged, the Obama Administration’s arbitrary termination of two hardrock mineral leases and politicized mining withdrawal – coming only the day before President Obama left office – sets precedent for a sweeping executive power grab that threatens communities throughout the country," Congressman Gosar said. "Congress has already passed two separate laws authorizing mining in the Superior National Forest, and the 1986 Forest Service and 2004 Forest Plans both concluded that mining is ‘a desired condition.’ No one is proposing to mine in the 1.1 million acre Boundary Waters Wilderness Area, an area that already has significant buffers, and mining in the forest will occur only after job creators have gone through the full NEPA environmental process. All this bill does is secure the opportunity to present mining plans for an area already authorized for mining by Congress. The people of Minnesota should know they have a Representative who will fight for their livelihoods in Congressman Emmer.”

“This is a win for Minnesota and for our country,” said Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers. “Mining and developing our minerals here in the U.S. creates jobs and grows our economy. This legislation will continue to uphold our environmental laws, including complying with the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), while ensuring that we are responsibly unleashing our natural resources. This legislation also lessens our reliance on foreign countries for natural resources, which in turn strengthens our national security by making the U.S. more self-sufficient. Thank you to Rep. Emmer for your dedication to serving the people of Minnesota and for putting for a bill that helps our economy and our national defense.” 

Background
On January 19th, 2017, the day before President Trump was sworn in, the previous administration published a 234,328-acre federal mineral withdrawal application in the Federal Register, to restrict for a 20-year moratorium, lands within the Superior National Forest in Northeast Minnesota.

This action immediately placed this vast area off limits to future mineral leasing, exploration and potential development for two years while the 20-year withdrawal is being considered. The total withdrawal application boundary spans approximately 425,000 acres, including 95,000 acres of state school trust fund lands.

In conjunction with this massive mineral withdrawal, the Obama Administration’s Bureau of Land Management inappropriately rejected Twin Metals Minnesota’s application to renew two hardrock mineral leases in Minnesota’s Superior National Forest – leases that were signed in 1966 and renewed without controversy in 1989 and 2004.

The MINER Act halts last-minute political mineral withdrawals by requiring Congressional approval for any future withdrawal actions in Minnesota, renews two mineral leases that were denied for political reasons under the same terms they were renewed twice previously and ensures any future mining projects in Minnesota National Forests will have to satisfy all existing environmental permitting requirements including NEPA.