'Can You Name Them For Me?': John Barrasso Grills Deb Haaland About New Mines

6 months ago

At Thursday's Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) questioned Interior Secretary Deb Haaland about mines.

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Transcript

00:00Thank you so much, Senator. Secretary Haaland, a couple questions. You've been in office for

00:06over three years now. During that time, you've applauded President Biden's energy policies.

00:10His policies, I believe, are going to dramatically drive up our nation's demand for cobalt,

00:15for nickel, for zinc, for other critical minerals. Yesterday, you testified that your

00:20department has permitted, you said, five new critical mineral mines. Do you know what those

00:26mines are? Can you name them for me? I'm trying to ask about whether these were expansions of

00:34existing mines, modifications, or actually permitting of new mines. If you need to visit

00:39with your staff, they might have the answers to that, because you testified to that yesterday.

00:42I'm just trying to figure out what they were. Thank you, Senator. I'll start, and I can pass

00:46it to the Acting Deputy Secretary. Yes, they were five mines producing critical minerals,

00:53such as lithium, vanadium, and barium. Also, we recently took another step forward on the

00:58Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine in Nevada. Laura might be able to provide more details.

01:04Whether there's new mines or expansions. Thank you, Madam Secretary. Thank you,

01:09Senator, for the question. The five are new permitted mines. I honestly only know the name

01:15of one. It's the vanadium mine in Nevada. We can get you the list, and we'd be happy to.

01:20The reason I ask is, Madam Secretary, you just testified to Senator Hawley about you

01:25provide the vision. What I'm concerned about is the experts are telling us that the world is going

01:30to need 400 new mines to meet the growing mineral demand for the minerals that you've just referred

01:37to. Instead of trying to solve the problem, it does seem to me that the Department has actually

01:43been blocking access to American minerals. You've blocked access to minerals on federal lands and

01:49blocked access to minerals on state lands, some on native lands. As you're providing this vision,

01:55what's your solution? I'm just trying to see how to equate the math of the five with the 400

02:01that are needed. Thank you for that, Senator. Yes, of course, we understand that if we want

02:07to have a clean energy economy, that critical minerals are definitely a part of that.

02:13In the President's energy independence vision for our country, I apologize.

02:28The point of your question again, I'm so sorry. Well, you testified yesterday there were five

02:33new mines permitted at a time when we feel the world is saying we need 400 new mines to meet

02:40what the President is trying to do. Thank you, yes. One of the things that I feel very proud of that

02:46we've done, the Interagency Task Force on Mining Reform. As you know, our mining law is 150 years

02:54old. This is 2024. New technologies have come up. The Interagency Work Group on Mining Reform has

03:02come out with a report. We feel that the recommendations in that report will help us

03:07to be more efficient and effective when it comes to permitting mines and moving the industry forward.

03:12Because the sad reality, as you know, is that if we're willing to rely on China and the Congo and

03:18Indonesia for these critical minerals, they have horrible records in terms of environmental

03:23standards, in terms of labor standards. I just find that unacceptable. We need to get more permitted.

03:28Another area of mutual concern to both of us is the lack of housing for employees at our National

03:34Park Service, and you're going to hear that both sides of the aisle. Many of the housing units for

03:39Park Service employees don't meet modern standards. Many of the living conditions are unacceptable.

03:45I understand there may not be a single solution to the problem. I think you need to partner with

03:52the private sector at least as much as you're partnering and relying on Congress. Would you

03:56describe in terms of the vision you have in your efforts to address the lack of suitable housing

04:01for park staff? Thank you, Seth, so much for the question and for caring about where our career

04:08staff actually live. So, of course, we're working on many new options. The budget proposes over

04:14$100 million from different funding sources to improve employee housing and parks.

04:18That includes $17 million to replace obsolete and deteriorated housing or housing to add housing

04:26capacity where affordable housing for purchase or rent is limited, $2 million to continue to

04:31support private sector leasing for seasonal housing, more than $60 million in 2025 LRF

04:38projects to rehabilitate or replace NPS housing in various national parks. We were also successful

04:45at working with partners. We were very grateful for a $40 million anonymous donation to Yellowstone

04:54National Park that will support housing construction. As you know, in some of these

04:58gateway communities, it's very expensive. It's where the folks who buy vacation homes can live,

05:04and so we're grateful that we're putting all these sources together and appreciate you caring

05:11about it. Thank you. My final question is that there's a wildfire crisis, and you're hearing

05:16this from both sides of the aisle. The Department has more than 50 million acres of forest that must

05:22be actively managed to prevent them from going up in smoke. This can't happen without partnering

05:27with the forest product sector. The Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission

05:34has called on the Department to support the forest products sector. Sawmills, though,

05:39are closing across the West, and the threat of catastrophic wildfires continues to increase.

05:46So shutting down forest management and restoration activities I think is dangerous,

05:50not a viable option if we're going to get control of the wildfire crisis affecting

05:55the West. Secretary Holland, what happens to the federal forests when they lose a local sawmill,

06:02and would you agree that the Department needs to try to retain its existing private sector partners

06:07in the timber industry? Senator, thank you for the question, and I recognize that this is an issue.

06:16It's also an issue for tribes. We visited a tribal community in Wisconsin who has a sawmill

06:22and actively works to manage their forests. We appreciate the reports that were developed

06:33in a unified fashion. I will take your suggestions forward to the Department, and we recognize that

06:41this is all important. Fuels management is also an issue for these wildland fires, and our budget

06:49reflects the commitment to that as well. Thank you, Madam Secretary. Thank you again for being

06:53here joining us this morning. Members, we'll have to the close of business tomorrow to submit

06:58additional questions. For the record, the committee stands adjourned.

'Can You Name Them For Me?': John Barrasso Grills Deb Haaland About New Mines

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