U.S. Republicans aim to shorten EV mine permitting after House win

Polymet Mining

17/11/2022 19:47

By Ernest Scheyder
       Nov 17 (Reuters) - Republicans will seek to boost
American production of lithium, copper and other
electric-vehicle metals after the U.S. midterm elections gave
them narrow control of the House of Representatives and the
power to influence how regulators approve or deny mining
projects. 
    The party on Wednesday was projected to have won at least
218 seats needed to control the House when the new Congress
begins on Jan. 3, a narrow victory after more than a week of
vote counting. 
    Republican leaders had promised voters during the election
they would cut the mining permit review timeline in half and
boost domestic EV mining, rather than seek more supply overseas.
They also want federal agencies to coordinate better when
reviewing mine permit applications and to place time limits on
when lawsuits against mines may be filed.
    "We need to step up our mining activities if we're going to
have an electrified economy," said Representative Bruce
Westerman, an Arkansas Republican who is poised to become chair
of the powerful House Natural Resources Committee.   
    Westerman and other Republicans will be partially stymied by
Republicans' failure to wrest control of the U.S. Senate from
Democrats.
    "We're not talking about gutting environmental laws,"
Westerman told reporters on Thursday. "We're talking about
making environmental laws work so we can protect the environment
and have a strong and vibrant economy at the same time."
    Westerman said he has spoken with Senator Joe Manchin, a
West Virginia Democrat and the chair of the Senate energy
committee, about permitting reform and is "hopeful that it's an
area where we can work together."
    With their newfound control, Republicans could threaten to
withhold funding from agencies perceived as taking too long to
approve mines. President Joe Biden, though, will still oversee
the permitting process.
    Miners and their Republican supporters, who have long
complained that the U.S. mine permitting process is capricious,
say they are hopeful for some changes in the new Congress.
    "We're optimistic that the oversight function will be robust
and that the (Biden) administration will comply with legal
statutes already laid out," said Rich Nolan, head of the
National Mining Association, an industry trade group. 
    Conservationists, who are typically aligned with Democrats,
have argued that regulatory review should not be unduly rushed
despite the rising popularity of EVs.
    Republicans plan to investigate Biden's decisions to halt
development of Antofagasta Plc's  ANTO.L  Twin Metals copper
project in Minnesota and Rio Tinto Plc's  RIO.L  Resolution
Copper project in Arizona. The Resolution project is opposed by
Representative Raúl Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat who will
relinquish his chairmanship of the House Natural Resources
Committee to Westerman.
    "We want the politics to be out of the permit review process
and let the facts, the science and the truth be the determinant
as to whether a mine moves forward," said Representative Pete
Stauber, a Minnesota Republican set to become chair of the
House's Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, which
oversees mining on federal land.
    Biden's regulators are also scrutinizing a Nevada lithium
project from ioneer Ltd  INR.AX . Proposed mines from Lithium
Americas Corp  LAC.TO  and Polymet Mining Corp  POM.TO  face
stiff court challenges.    
    Other parts of the energy industry are hoping for permitting
reform, too. Alan Armstrong, chief executive of Williams
Companies Inc  WMB.N , said he expects a tough but successful
fight to streamline the permitting process for hydrogen
pipelines.
    Legislation signed by Biden earlier this year extends EV tax
credits to minerals produced in countries with U.S. free trade
deals. Republicans say that expanding such deals to other
countries is not a priority for the new Congress.
    "My first goal would be to develop the resources we have
here at home," said Westerman.
 (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder in Houston
Additional reporting by David Gaffen in Houston
Editing by Matthew Lewis)
 ((ernest.scheyder@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: @ErnestScheyder;
+1-713-210-8512; Reuters Messaging:
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