HouseH.R. 8773119th Congress
Containing Effects of Mineral Extraction Act of 2026
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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8773 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8773
To impose certain conditions on mineral materials sales contracts and
free use permits under the Materials Act of 1947 with respect to large-
scale mineral extraction projects located near urban communities, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 12, 2026
Mr. Whitesides introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To impose certain conditions on mineral materials sales contracts and
free use permits under the Materials Act of 1947 with respect to large-
scale mineral extraction projects located near urban communities, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Containing Effects of Mineral
Extraction Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN MINERAL MATERIALS SALES CONTRACTS AND
FREE USE PERMITS.
(a) Requirements.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary may only enter into a
mineral materials sales contract with respect to, or issue a
free use permit for the disposal of mineral materials pursuant
to, a qualifying project under the Act of July 31, 1947 (30
U.S.C. 601 et seq.; commonly known as the ``Materials Act of
1947'') if--
(A) the person carrying out the qualifying
project--
(i) submits to the Secretary--
(I) a haul route impact assessment
for the qualifying project--
(aa) jointly developed by
the person and the agency with
jurisdiction over
transportation of each State
and political subdivision
thereof within which the
qualifying project will be
carried out;
(bb) that concludes the
qualifying project will not
materially degrade the safety
or level of service on highways
on the haul route; and
(cc) that, consistent with
applicable laws and other
standards relating to air
quality and noise, identifies
measures that shall be taken to
minimize dust, particulate
emissions, and noise impacts on
land adjacent to the haul route
that is used for sensitive or
residential purposes;
(II) a trip management plan for the
qualifying project that sets limits
on--
(aa) load staging;
(bb) hours of operation;
and
(cc) debris controls;
(III) a water use and conservation
plan for the qualifying project that,
consistent with applicable State and
Tribal laws, ensures the projected
annual consumptive use of groundwater
and surface water by the qualifying
project will be offset within the same
basin through conservation or other
feasible measures; and
(IV) a rail or lower-impact
transportation analysis for the
qualifying project that evaluates
whether rail-served aggregate supply or
other lower-impact modes of
transportation are feasible for the
majority of projected tonnage of the
qualifying project; and
(ii) demonstrates to the satisfaction of
the Secretary that, with respect to the
qualifying project, the person--
(I) will implement each of the
items submitted to the Secretary under
clause (i);
(II) has coordinated in good faith
with affected State, Tribal, and local
governments to identify and undertake
reasonable haul-route safety and
maintenance measures;
(III) has acquired all necessary
water rights; and
(IV) has been issued each required
permit under the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251
et seq.) and the Safe Drinking Water
Act (42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.); and
(B) the Secretary determines each of the items
submitted to the Secretary under subparagraph (A)(i)--
(i) meet applicable Federal, State, Tribal,
and local laws and other standards relating to
transportation safety, air quality, noise, and
water resources; and
(ii) reflect any modification requested by
an affected State, Tribal, or local government
under paragraph (2) that is determined to be
reasonable under subparagraph (B) of that
paragraph.
(2) Modification requests.--
(A) In general.--A State, Tribal, or local
government that is affected by a qualifying project may
submit to the Secretary a request for a modification of
the qualifying project.
(B) Reasonableness determination.--If a State,
Tribal, or local government submits a request for a
modification of a qualifying project under subparagraph
(A), the Secretary and the applicable State, Tribal, or
local government shall jointly select an entity to
carry out an independent review of the modification to
determine whether the modification is reasonable.
(b) Incorporation of Lower-Impact Transportation Options in
Qualifying Projects.--If the analysis submitted to the Secretary under
subsection (a)(1)(A)(i)(IV) for a qualifying project demonstrates that
lower-impact modes of transportation, including rail, are feasible for
the majority of projected tonnage of the qualifying project, the
Secretary shall, where practicable, take into account the incorporation
of such modes into the qualifying project in entering into a mineral
materials sales contract with respect to, or issuing a free use permit
for the disposal of mineral materials pursuant to, the qualifying
project under the Act of July 31, 1947 (30 U.S.C. 601 et seq.; commonly
known as the ``Materials Act of 1947'').
(c) Enforcement.--The Secretary may require the suspension of
operations under or terminate or revoke a mineral materials sales
contract entered into with respect to, or a free use permit issued for
the disposal of mineral materials pursuant to, a qualifying project
under the Act of July 31, 1947 (30 U.S.C. 601 et seq.; commonly known
as the ``Materials Act of 1947'') if the Secretary determines, after
notice and opportunity to cure, the person carrying out the qualifying
project has failed to comply with a requirement of this section.
(d) Annual Reports.--
(1) In general.--A person carrying out a qualifying project
shall annually submit to the Secretary a report regarding the
qualifying project, including, with respect to the preceding
year--
(A) the volume of groundwater and surface water
consumed;
(B) the number of truck trips made by commercial
motor vehicle; and
(C) the implementation of each of the items
submitted to the Secretary under subsection
(a)(1)(A)(i).
(2) Confidential business information.--Each report
submitted to the Secretary under paragraph (1) and information
included in each such report--
(A) shall be--
(i) treated as confidential business
information; and
(ii) exempt from disclosure under section
552(b)(3)(B) of title 5, United States Code
(commonly known as the ``Freedom of Information
Act''); and
(B) except as provided in paragraph (3), may not be
made publicly available.
(3) Publicly available summary.--The Secretary shall
annually--
(A) aggregate the information included in the
annual reports submitted under paragraph (1); and
(B) publish and make publicly available a summary
of such aggregated information.
(e) Review.--Beginning 5 years after the date of the enactment of
this section and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary shall--
(1) aggregate the information included in the annual
reports submitted under subsection (d); and
(2) evaluate such aggregated information to identify any
recurring effects on transportation and groundwater resources.
(f) Rulemaking.--The Secretary may issue such regulations as are
necessary to carry out this section, including procedures and criteria
with respect to--
(1) the analysis required to be submitted to the Secretary
under subsection (a)(1)(A)(i)(IV); and
(2) ensuring the consistency of qualifying projects with
applicable State and local requirements.
(g) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed
to duplicate or supersede--
(1) the requirements of the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); or
(2) applicable State permitting processes.
(h) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Areas of critical environmental concern.--The term
``areas of critical environmental concern'' has the meaning
given the term in section 103 of the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702).
(2) Mineral materials.--The term ``mineral materials''
means mineral materials as the term is used in section 1 of the
Act of July 31, 1947 (30 U.S.C. 601; commonly known as the
``Materials Act of 1947'').
(3) Qualifying project.--The term ``qualifying project''
means a project to extract mineral materials that--
(A) is located--
(i) within 25 miles of an urbanized area;
or
(ii) within or adjacent to areas of
critical environmental concern, as determined
by the Secretary;
(B) is projected by the person carrying out the
project or determined by the Secretary to be expected
to produce more than 1 million tons of mineral
materials in any 1-year period; and
(C) has not begun commercial extraction of mineral
materials before the date of the enactment of this
section.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(5) Urbanized area.--The term ``urbanized area'' means an
area designated as such by the Secretary of Commerce, acting
through the Director of the United States Census Bureau.
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