H.R. 8773

[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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