S.B. 254 Extracted Natural Resources Amendments: transcript

Thank you very much. Uh, Senator Owens. My pleasure. My pleasure to be here.

Okay, thank you very much. Um, I think you all know that, um, we believe that we have about 50 of 60th critical minerals that we need, uh, for the defense of this country, for technology and innovation, uh, in the state of Utah. We don't know that they're all mineable, but we need to figure in terms of economic feasibility. But we need to figure that out. We also know that we need to process those minerals. Um, it's not enough just to get them out of the ground, but we also need to be able to process them. And our goal is to capture 20 to 25% of the US domestic demand. Um, the reason now and this time is because we need to make sure we have access to these minerals. And our cheap source of these minerals from China has now been threatened significantly. Um, and as a nation, I think the government has discovered that we need to make sure that we make critical minerals, mining and marketing and pricing something that works, that we can become more critical mineral independent in this nation if we're going to be able to meet the needs of our nation. So what this does, um, I will, I'll hit the highlights and then I'll let you ask me questions. Um, we wanna do several things. We wanna develop a state strategy for this, um, just like we have talked about with energy and other things. Um, this is something we've had a regulatory body and they are wonderful and great folks for regulating and permitting and all of those things. Um, but if we wanna help develop this industry, we need to get focused on what a state strategy would be to do that. So we're gonna set up a critical minerals council. We're gonna ask them to work on a strategic plan in helping us develop a, um, a strategy that would include the following elements. One piece of it is expedited permitting. Um, we wanna be the state where permitting is expedited, that we're doing it with all, uh, the necessary requirements, not cutting, uh, down on our quality, but making sure we're doing it as quickly as we can. The second is we wanna facilitate the development of critical mineral zones. Um, we know that where there are some deposits, we dump know maybe where there are other potential deposits, but helping us do what we need to do in order to develop, uh, and facilitate critical mineral zone development, we think is extremely important because we wanna expand mining and we want to bring much more processing. It's one thing to just mine these elements, but if you take that and then you have to send it to someplace else to process it, you it costs more money. We want to build something where we're building a vertical strategy for, um, as M**k Thomas would probably say, to mine, to process and manufacture actually. Um, and you think about the aerospace and defense industry that we have in this state, uh, along with the technology firms, et cetera, that's not, uh, that's not expecting too much. Then we wanna create a mine center. And the purpose of this mine center is to allow us to be able to support industry in the early innovation around this project. University of Utah has a mines program, the only one in state that has, that does, uh, mining, uh, as a program. What we wanna do is take the expertise and the use as willing to participate in this and to contribute to, uh, people and expertise and experience towards this. Combine that with the development of a facility, and then being able to purchase equipment that is needed by industry to do the kind of innovation, te product testing, et cetera, that needs to be done. Um, and they don't need to want to buy it for each of their own, uh, companies or its early stage work. Um, but they would be willing to come in and if they're a part of deciding what gets put in this facility, what they're going to use, um, they would help pay for, um, that equipment by leasing, renting space. We'd have researchers there working with students who are also, uh, graduate students in this area. So we're building our talent pool and we're building our capabilities related to processing. So we in fact, are able to meet the needs of this nation. Um, this would be coordinated by, uh, a, uh, a council critical minerals council that would have, well, we've, this is a pretty unique partnership, I think we've begun to develop. Um, it's DNR, um, and it's, uh, would have our folks, particularly in mining and geology, et cetera, it would also have eo. So we bring the economic development people. So if we have a company that's interested, we're able to support them in that effort, perhaps provide incentives, tax incentives to help, uh, recruit them here. But we bring everybody. Then we've got the regulatory people that are able to expedite permitting and work through that, and we're able then to provide them the opportunity to do any kind of, uh, innovation and testing that they need to do in order to be able to refine the product or refine the processing. Um, so it, it takes everybody to do this. And we're trying to, uh, put our university expertise, our state expertise, and then the expertise brought by our mining industry in this state, uh, to the table, and then our trade folks who can help us, um, work through how we make sure we have the markets that we need over time to make this a viable project. So, um, with that, I think I'm just gonna open it up to questions. Um, it's a big project and, but it's an incredibly important project and this gets us started.

Thank you. I'm looking through the council here, and I see only industry and economic growth sort of, uh, agencies represented nothing from conservation, not even Department of Environmental quality or anything along those lines. I'm wondering if you could speak to why we're, uh, leaving off the, that community, uh, in a, in a state that is already widely acknowledged as one of the most friendly, uh, jurisdictions for mining in the world, which we tout all the time. Um, it seems like that that hopefully is an oversight. So what we're trying to do is to keep this down to, um, as a, a manageable number for the council. If you go into the legislation further, you'll see pieces around regulatory, where you'd see DEQ working with the department, uh, around oil, gas, mining folks, et cetera. So there's a council and then there's subgroups that are working on particular parts of this. Um, DEQ has been in these conversations as well with us and thinks that this is a reasonable approach to how we, how we go forward. Thank you. I guess, uh, that, that feels like, uh, well, I, I have a hard time wrapping my head around that, and, and as it, it seems like a bit of a race to the bottom in a state, again, like, like I just mentioned, that is really already seemingly as, as kind of far in that direction as we could be in a, in a state where we have seen continued toxic releases in the Salt Lake County area as a result of the mining industry. Um, this, this seems like a, a dangerous direction to go in.

Uh, not, not necessarily a question, but just a process and a comment. Uh, I, I think the bill is in a good place in, in, in this sense that we need to recognize that we have, we have a t the, the policy decision making, constitutional stewardship, rest with the legislature, the enforcing that policy rests with the agency. Uh, the critical aspect is we need to be able to bring, we need to be able to, to get the, the, the, uh, uh, best minds working together and creating the opportunity with legislative input. And then, and then at that point, when it's ripe, we bring it and, and we vet it through the environmental process. We vet it through the legislative process similar, uh, nothing different, what I've already been saying in the meeting today, but I, so that's my comment on process. And the, the bill seems to be aligned with, with that good process. The next point I want to say is, for years I have had a real concern with our lack in the state of Utah and in our nation, in drawing upon and protecting ourselves and being self-reliant in the space of critical minerals. And it's remarkable that recently, within last months, we've had a tremendous resource discovered on Sitler property down down west of Utah Lake. Uh, but I think that's just the beginning. There's, there's potentially, we have tailings of, from potentially great tailings that could be repurposed. And so I, I think that, that it's important that we do become very intentional and, and create as a bill says, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, effective use and way to, to, to, to move forward, certainly with legislative over oversight and, and policy making direction. So I would say the bill looks good at this point.

Okay. Thank you. But You're right, I started with 40.

Yes, I do. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, committee members, uh, Steve Erickson Great Basin Water Network. Um, just a very brief comment on this, uh, the last meeting of this, uh, committee on Thursday, Senator, um, Mikel happened to mention that, uh, we have the fastest permitting in the country. Um, and there has been one experience that we've gone through here recently, and that had to do with the extraction of, um, of minerals from Great Salt Lake. And this was a, a process that had not been done before. And, uh, we challenged that in a, in a, in a, a protest for the water rights that were requested. And the, as a result of that, uh, protest and the discussions that went on in, in that process, uh, there was a delay that was to take a look at whether the process could be proved to be able to extract, um, from great Salt Lake, um, the minerals that were sought by, uh, the corporation in particular, those were lithium. And just to, to point out that there will be perhaps some of this kind of extractive new technologies that we're going to be dealing with. And in, in line, um, 1 0 7, or excuse me, 7 0 9, um, it speaks to that question. And our concern really is to make sure that when, when there are novel, um, extraction, uh, uh, processes that are, uh, and methodologies being, uh, done or at least experimented with that we have some due caution in, in that process. And that's simple comments. Thanks.

Hi, my name's Andrew Sandstrom and I represent Unleash Utah. We're a coalition of lawmakers and private industry and municipal leaders and young conservatives. And, uh, our aim is to help make Utah the nation's leader an energy abundance and energy innovation and an environmental stewardship. Uh, I'd like to speak really quickly to, uh, I, I guess you could say the environmental aspect of this bill, which is, whether it's the development of advanced nuclear reactors or batteries or storage, uh, even carbon capture, anything you're thinking about with the future of energy development, it's going to need minerals. Uh, for too long we've been too reliant on China. They've got control of our supply chains in ways that are dangerous to our national security and also to our ability to innovate here at home. Um, if we block domestic supply, uh, we don't reduce demand. We just outsource extraction to countries with weaker environmental standards, which is what's happened over the last several decades. This bill isn't decreasing environmental standards, it's making us more competitive so that we can bring industries home to Utah where they can be done in a way that's more in line with our environmental goals. So, I, uh, want to urge the committee's support, uh, of the bill. And, uh, thank you for your time.

Good afternoon. My name is M**k Thomas. I'm the director of oil, gas and mining within the Department of Natural Resources. Um, it's been an honor to be a part of the crafting and development of this bill as a regulator. Uh, and I'm, I won't necessarily speak for DEQ or the other ones, but to echo, there are a number of regulatory agencies involved in the creation and, and imple in implementation of this. Uh, it's, it's refreshing to know that thanks to the technology that we have, there's never been any compromise, compromise within the state or nationally on any of the federal or state laws. As a part of this bill, we're going to be able to maintain the environmental protections, the citizens protections of Utah while implementing and growing, implementing the bill, which ideally will grow the, uh, the, the critical mineral industries in the state. Um, it's, it's, it's, it's someone will say about the national security and whatnot, and I'm not gonna speak to that, but definitely from a regulatory standpoint, we don't see any compromises in this, in any of the development of the, of the plan or the bill as it stands right now.

Uh, thank you Mr. Chair. Committee members Ted Sonenberg, director of the, uh, division of Waste Management and Radiation Control. Um, like M**k, I will speak for DEQ on this one. Um, the division supports this bill. We're committed to improving the efficiency and timeliness in processing our permanent applications. This bill grants the division, the ability to prioritize division resources to expedite the processing of permanent applications. We believe that this bill will assist our efforts to support growth while still being protective of the environment. Thank

I, I'm Alan Evans, representing the Utah in Port Authority. And we would just like to thank Senator Millner for leading out on this. We recognize how important critical minerals are to our state, and if this bill passes, we are ready to help however we can to make it successful. So

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My name is Brian Summers. I'm the President of the Utah Mining Association. The Utah Mining Association represents, uh, the, the minerals industry here in the state. Um, and we are very supportive of this bill. We've been working, uh, with Senator Millner, with Representative Shallenberger, uh, with the state agencies, with very various industry groups and community groups to, to work on the concepts that are, uh, that are, uh, reflected in this bill for the last number of months. Um, and we're very excited about the possibilities that this could bring to our state, to really put Utah into a leadership position on the critical minerals front, and on making sure that, that, uh, Utah and the nation have, uh, have dominance in the critical mineral space. As Senator Millner mentioned, uh, we've got, uh, 50 of the 60 minerals that are on the current list. The list was updated, uh, late last year. Uh, so we, we've changed our, our talking point on that. Um, and, uh, not only that, but we, we also are recognized as a, as a premier global mining jurisdiction. And so we have all of the elements necessary to really take a leadership position in this. And having this coordinating council, having the accelerated permitting and the mine center and all the other things that are, uh, talked about in this bill, will really help to put Utah in a leadership position, uh, on the critical minerals front, and allow us to, to ensure that we have that minerals, Independence, and minerals dominance. So I urge the committee's support of this, uh, legislation. And, uh, thank you.

Happy to close. Thank you Chair. Uh, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, uh, Senator Millner. Uh, my name's Jeff Hartley. I'm here representing Redleaf Resources, an oil shell development company. Um, and I'd just like to emphasize the importance of bringing this effort forward. There are critical minerals in areas of the state that have never been inventoried, that are really aren't known, um, by the Utah Geological Survey or the US Geological Survey. Um, in eastern Utah, there's an abundance of oil shell, um, Redleaf has under lease about 15,000 acres of school trust lands. Underneath that, there are 700 million barrels of recoverable oil, and we know where that oil is, we know where that's, that resource is because it's marked by what's called the, uh, mahogany marker, which is an ancient volcanic ash layer that's been fossilized. And as our, as our scientists in our labs have gone through, um, that, that ash layer, they've identified several of critical minerals that, that is a very thin resource, but it covers the entire Uintah basin. It goes, it goes from, really from the, the western edge of Duchesne County East towards Colorado. It gets deeper and thicker as it goes, but it's there. And it's never been inventory, never been cataloged. And they're there. It includes atrium, neodinium, lithium, cerium, thorium, and even uranium. And because there's uranium in that deposit, it could be, it could be, um, developed at Energy Fuels, which is an existing, um, facility today. So it's there. This is a great, great opportunity for the state to identify the resources that it has, and I urge you to support the bill. Thank you.

Okay. Sorry. It just cut me out. I'm making dinner and everything, so wish I could be there. Um, so my name is Mackenzie Millard. Um, I live in Magna, Utah. Um, speaking on just behalf of other, um, Utah residents who are right next to, um, effects such as Kennecott Mining that deposited, I don't, I don't actually know the number. I don't think anybody does. Um, lots of heavy minerals into the Great Salt Lake, which I live right next to. Um, and I just wanna reemphasize that understanding the environmental impact of opening up and making this even faster. Um, I don't know how we can make permitting faster and still account for the environmental impacts. I mean, we're looking at things like DuPont has been pumping, you know, forever chemicals into the water, and it takes years for the EPA to even catch up to what they're doing. And then they slightly alter it. And then once again, they have to go through this whole study process. So I just really urge you guys to think about the environmental impacts as well. Um, I'm for, you know, less, um, dependency on other places, but we also have to do due diligence of where people eat and, um, live and pretty much, um, don't crap where you eat or where you sleep. So I just wanna urge the council to, um, make sure the environmental, uh, aspect is thoroughly investigated. Thank you.

Thank you Chair. I'd like to move SB 2 54 critical Minerals Amendments with a favorable recommendation. Okay. That motion is in order. Uh, would you like to speak to it? I would like to speak to it. Thank you. I really appreciate the testimony, Mr. Erickson. And the last testimony, and, and I, I wanna point out two or three things. We have the capacity technology to build the, to do all that we're doing in a very environmentally wise and prudent way. Case in point, we've gone from a million 0.2 to three plus million and improved the quality of error in our state. There's lots of success stories like that. We gotta free up the, the, the, the brain trust and capacity that we have. I believe in reality and in truth, we have hundreds and hundreds of trillions of dollars of value sitting in our national resources in this state. So if we're worried about the national debt, we're worried about the Great Salt Lake and being able to fund that. We're worried about taxes, we're worried about social services, we're worried about education. If we will unleash in a, in a wise environmentally stewardship manner, the resources we have, all these problems can be solved. And we just are not dreaming and, and envisioning big enough to do it. But it is there. And we have the capacity and we have a track record, we have a history of being bringing the best minds together and creating this, creating the very best version. I think this is a small step towards that. And I, with that, I would like to see this move forward.

I had the opportunity in the past few years to, um, to visit Peru and, uh, down in Lima and, uh, another trip I was able to go to the, the mine center up in Toronto, Canada. Um, both of those places are being strangled, held by China. China would love to, they want Peru and Peru asking Utah of the United States, Utah specifically to for help, uh, to create a safe way going forward. So I, I love what you're putting together here with all stakeholders and, um, just, just your ability to work with so many stakeholders at one time.

Thank you very much. Um, this truly has been, we have had many stakeholders involved. Um, we've had state agencies, um, who this is their wheelhouse. We have tried to combine that with economic development folks. The mining association, uh, with the University of Utah has one of only 14 mine programs in the country. Uh, which means we bring the expertise to this. We have the ability to do workforce development. We have the ability to innovate. Uh, we have the ability to pull partners together to do this in a way that nobody else can, I think, and more quickly than anybody else can. This is, um, what we hope becomes the kind of beginning of something that allows the state to become like major, um, exporter of processed minerals that meet the critical mineral needs of this country, uh, which is extremely important to all of our futures. So with that, I say, and, and I have to say all the people who've worked on this with me, uh, over and over again, um, they're amazing people, but I feel like every step along the way, we've gotten to a better place, um, because of that. So thank you.

Thank you. I, I hope that we can vote for this and, and recognize that we need to trust our trust ourselves and the opportunity to get inspiration to come up with the best solutions and not to be our own worst enemy. Thank you.

Senate Bill 2 54, sub one, uh, critical Mineral Amendment. Senator Millner, welcome. Thank you very much. Um, I really appreciate the opportunity to present, um, uh, Senate Bill 2 54. Um, we have had a working group, uh, working all this year, uh, trying to say we need to think about how we could help in Utah contribute to, um, both mining and processing of critical minerals that are critical for our national security and for our technology. And we, um, had a broad based group that has included both people from state agencies, from industry associations, um, as, um, as well as legislators. Um, and as a part of that process, um, here's the bill that we've come up with. First of all, it's really meant to start by setting a framework and a strategy for critical minerals. I actually think it follows in some ways the example that we set that, uh, represent Alre set with his energy bill. Um, last year, we need, well, with the last two years because there was a strategic planning bill and then kind of a framework bill, we've tried to combine those two things into this bill. So what it does is, is call up on the state to set up a statewide strategy. It, um, there are kind of many components to this. One of it is, uh, thinking about permitting. So this calls for expediting of permitting and, um, our oil, gas, and, uh, mining folks believe they can expedite permitting, um, by 25%, uh, with the right, uh, components in place here that it calls for, um, facilitating the development of critical mineral zones. Now, obviously in some cases, these critical mineral zones are determined in a sense by where there's really mineable critical minerals. But the other piece of this is processing. If, um, and Utah has 50 of these 60, uh, critical minerals. So whether they're all mineable is a different question, uh, in terms of the economics of it. But we have 50 of 60. We have the opportunity here to expand what we're doing in this area, but if we just mine it and we don't process it, uh, we send it to some other country for processing. We aren't meeting our needs to be, um, more critically men, uh, mineral independent in this country. And I think many of you know that one of the things that's been happening as we negotiate with other countries is they've been putting off access, uh, to certain rare earth or critical minerals that we really need in order to be able to manage aerospace defense, uh, of this country for electronics, et cetera. So the thought, so what we want to do is to actually accelerate our ability to mine and to process. In some cases, that's going to take some innovation. It's gonna take some work with industry partnerships between researchers and industry. Um, as we're able to identify the particular things that we can mine be able to process those things, um, and be able to do that, it's wherever possible in the state. Um, but we're probably gonna be doing this in partnership with surrounding states. Um, they may have minerals that are mineable that we don't have. They may be, um, but if we can come together as the Intermountain West States on this, we can make a difference here. Um, so this would create a mining center, the mine center and the mine center really is to help put in place some of the equipment, resources, and techno and expertise. So an industry can come and bring something, they can work with some researchers and work on how do we get really quickly applicable industry, uh, processing, uh, and safe. That's, that will be in place, that will be economic, that will be safe, environmentally safe, um, but also we'll make sure we're able to produce the supplies of these that we need. And we have industry partnering with the University of Utah Reminder of the University of Utah has, uh, one of, uh, only 14 mining schools, uh, in the country. So we have an incredible resource here, um, to be able to take us the next step. And this would all be done, all of this work would be done under, um, the coordination of a critical minerals council. So we actually try to activate the partnerships, the coordination and facilitation and acceleration of this agenda. And with that, I think I'll open it up to questions.

I just want to compliment you on, on this bill. I was on your working group this summer and fall, and just for the committee's edification, we met at least every two weeks. Uh, and, and Senator Millner chaired that working group. And this is a product as a result of, of all those meetings on critical Minerals. I, I was curious about your fiscal note, but as you discussed it, I think I understand it now. And so is there any other questions from the committee? This is a very important thing for Utah's future. I will say that. I see no questions.

Morning chairman. My name's M**k Thomas. I'm the director of oil and gas and mining within the State of Utah. The division, um, accepts and is encouraged by the opportunity to approve itself and follow the new permitting requirements outlined in this bill. The division and a number of stakeholders were very engaged throughout this past calendar year, uh, and the development of this whole framework from where we sit, it was done very well and compliments some of the other divisions goals of, uh, improving technology, increasing our speed without compromising any of the environmental, uh, guidelines that protect citizens of Utah and the state. Um, further, uh, beyond my role as the director, I'd like to speak affirmatively to Senator Millner and the development of this bill and how critical it is that this mine center and the tools provided out of this bill fill a gap in industry. Uh, currently we've got great rock. We've got a lot of potential here. And then when a mine goes into production, ideally it's profitable. Um, however, there's a gap there. A high risk gap that this bill comes in and supports and provides a framework to develop it. It's, uh, it's unique in the United States and very excited to be a part of. So thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. My name is Brian Summers. I'm the President of the Utah Mining Association. I want to thank, uh, Senator Millner and Representative Shallenberger and all those that participated in the working group, uh, throughout this, uh, uh, list last year on bringing this bill forward. Um, as the senator mentioned, this is a, a critical bill for our, our economic and national security. Uh, there are 47 different mineral commodities where we're more than 50% dependent on imports and 16, where we're a hundred percent dependent on foreign imports. And we've really gotta reverse that situation and make sure that these supply chains are secure and that we have the minerals, Independence and minerals dominance that we can have. And Utah's in a position to take a leadership role on this, not only because of our amazing mineral endowment that the senator mentioned, but also because we have a world class industry. We've got amazing regulators. We've got a legislature and, uh, executive branch that are willing to work with us on this. Um, and I believe that this, uh, this bill provides the framework for us to, to make sure that we're all coordinated, uh, to put ourselves in a leading position, especially with the Mine Center and some of the accelerated permitting that she talked about, critical mineral zones, et cetera. So we're very excited about this. And, uh, also as, uh, director Thomas said, uh, the mining industry's excited to, uh, to prove ourselves in this as well. Uh, so again, thank the sponsors for bringing this forward, and we'd ask for your support. Thank you. Thank

Good morning, Mr. Chair. Tim Davis, executive Director of the Department of Environmental Quality. I could not leave the line. Incredible regulators just to hang out there without testifying. Um, so, uh, this, uh, I, I know that he's primarily referencing, uh, Mr. Uh, director Thomas and his great team, but we are also, uh, committed to, uh, from de Q's perspective helping critical mineral development happen more quickly. You've heard me say this throughout the session throughout the last year. We need to be able to do what we're doing faster, but do it in a way that continues to protect, uh, air, land, and water. And we, we believe we can do that. So we're, we're committed to working, uh, to bring critical minerals here in a way that, uh, does protect, uh, and improve airline water. And we appreciate the leadership of Senator Millner over the last year on this. So happy to answer any questions.

I, uh, I'm curious if you would just share some of the, um, some of the strategies and, and methods you have, uh, in mind for speeding up the process while also maintaining, uh, that those environmental quality standards. Uh,

One of the things, Mr. Chair, if I may, uh, the, uh, I'll, I'll start with just 'cause you saw you heard from both Director Thomas and myself today, is to make sure that our permitting processes are in, in sync as much as we can. Uh, if they're not, then you, what you do is you have this staggered process that can slow down the overall permitting, uh, where we can get as much information upfront as possible across all the permitting agencies so that we can begin to work sooner, is one of the things that I think is anticipated in this legislation, um, and that we're working on. I'm happy to go to you. There are a variety of others, but I'm happy to go into those as two. Great. We can talk off That. Thank you representative.

Okay. My name is Joan Entwistle and I'm a resident of Sum Summit County. I represent myself and I, um, thank you Chair Albrecht and committee for the opportunity to comment. I oppose SB 2 54 due to the large fiscal note, the expedited permitting process, and the lack of representation of environmental protection on the 11 person board. I recognize the importance of the US having secure national sources of critical minerals, and that Utah can provide this security, but I think this bill would expedite permitting faster than it was for the health and the population of Utah. Senator Millner previously stated that this expedited permitting process in another state allowed a new nuclear plant to be permitted in 14 days. 14 days is not enough to do a meaningful environmental assessment or allow for community input before new projects are started. A full consultation should be done. Community members should have input on nearby projects that will impact their community. I support development of critical minerals safely without increasing air and water pollution, and taking care to not to negatively impact the experience of Utah, of their residents and tourists. To this end, the council should have representatives from the D-E-Q-D-E-A-Q and water quality, as we can see from the widespread pollution from our current and past mining operations. And that Mag Core was able to walk away leaving, you know, f at least $50 million in cleanup, uh, to, for us to pay for. We need to be doing more to protect Utahans from mining. The fiscal note for this bill is $10 million in an ongoing loss to Utah taxpayers of 1 million per year to subsidize mining and the wealthy companies using the critical minerals. It takes potential local tax revenues away from the communities that will experience the negative impacts of increased trucking and noise while the state cuts education funds and allows Utahans to go hungry. If you believe in free markets, these subsidies are not needed. The com, the new companies that will make large profits from these mines should be paying directly for the new costs. Thank you for your time today.

Mr. Chair, if I may, I'd like to make a positive, uh, motion for a positive recommendation for SB 2 54.

I'd like to make a positive motion that we, or a emotion that we positively recommend a SB 2 54 Sub one. Sub one.

Would you like to speak to it? I Would actually. I really appreciate the Senator Vickers Good work on this. Um, and we are in an arms race, I think I believe, of our day. And it includes critical minerals. If we don't get this right, we're going to be really sad. Um, we just cannot move this fast enough. So I appreciate all of the good work that's happened in this area.

Thank you. Uh, I agree with Representative Koford. The federal government has made it a priority, uh, made it well known that this is a priority for the country, and Utah is one of the rare, rare position states to jump on this opportunity where we have the mining capabilities, the processing capabilities, the, the scholastic academic institutions to back this up, as well as the technology and manufacturing capabilities here in Utah to make this, uh, hub moving forward for this, uh, for critical minerals and the technology in these areas. So, uh, very excited about this opportunity.

I, I would like to say, uh, I've never talked about a nuclear plant being, um, permitted in 14 days. I have said I'd like for it to be less than a decade. Um, so, um, but that aside, um, uh, I just think this is Utah can be ni this is a place Utah can lead. Um, and we can lead because of the geography and the geology of the state. We can leave because of our can do approach. We can leave because we have, uh, a mining program here and we have a very strong mining industry here. And, um, we should take that opportunity to not only benefit Utah, but to benefit the United States of America.

I would just like to add onto that if we're looking for opportunities to reshore manufacturing and, and industries, this is an amazing place to do that, to bring skilled jobs to our state. So I hope the committee will support it.

Thank you. I'd just like to add too, that I was on that working group this summer and fall, and there was a lot of effort went in to make this bill what it is. And I appreciate the good senator leading those efforts.

uh, deleting title and body Senate bill 2 54 and replace it with first substitute Senate bill 2 54. Thank you. That motions around. Going to speak to it Really around financing changes. We had to make some clarifications because of the complexity of the financing.

Thank you very much Mr. President. Uh, I promised Senator Harper I would move fast. So what this does is help us set up a state strategy for critical minerals. As we all know, uh, that has become that something very important for the United States in terms of national defense and technology development, that we have a supply of critical minerals and the processing capability here. Utah has 50 of the 60 critical minerals on the list. Um, that doesn't mean they're all mineable in terms of a cost perspective, but it gives us great potential to play a important role in developing critical minerals in the state, both in terms of, uh, uh, mining those critical minerals, but then also developing the technology for processing. Um, so this bill is about expediting, um, permitting. It's about, uh, setting up the technology that will support developing technology for processing these minerals so we're not mining 'em, then shipping 'em off to another country to process doing it in a ways that are safe and, um, and economically feasible. Um, we would be setting up a mine center to help support that, that mine center would be focused on the technology. We have one of the few programs in mining in the United States at the University of Utah. They are willing to help participate in this as well as working with the folks in DNR and the folks in DEQ and the folks in Goyo. Uh, the outside mining association of the research, uh, p uh, the research, uh, institutions, et cetera. And I think we have a chance to chart new ground and critical minerals and put, uh, unit put Utah at the Center of Critical Mineral Development. With that, I'm open to questions.

SCR nine. I'd like to delete in title and bodily SCR nine, uh, concurrent resolution regarding critical minerals and replace it with first substitute. Um, uh, for scr nine.

Um, they're just minor changes in terms of wording. Okay.

Thank you very much. We discussed this bill yesterday. Um, this is critical. Mine Mineral amendments bill is really about, um, our being able to play a key role in helping this country, um, meet its needs for critical minerals, both in terms of thinking about, um, being able to mine those minerals work because we do have 50 of 60 of the critical minerals here in the state of Utah. But also developing the expertise to be able to process them. 'cause it doesn't help if you get them out of the ground and you can't process 'em and have to send them to another country to do that. Um, this is about building our capacity to do it through critical minerals, creating critical mineral zones, fast tracking, um, permitting processes, um, being able then to do innovation, uh, and testing for developing the processing. Um, that will do it with, um, low environmental impact, but maximum kind of, uh, speed to make sure we have the critical minerals that are necessary for technology of the future as well as for, um, the national defense of our country. And with that, I'm, I'm open to questions.

Thank you. Uh, I'm just concerned about the direction we're going here. This is a bit of a one way ratchet where we have seen, uh, bills like this pass across a whole range of space spaces without actually including any protections for, uh, environmental issues or anything along those lines. So we are already considered to be pretty much the most friendly mining jurisdiction in the world. I don't know why we need to go even further. Uh, so I'm a no.

Oh, sorry. I gotta place the motion. The motion before is the House Circle First substitute SB 2 54.

Thank you. Motion to adopt, uh, third substitute for Senate bill 2 54.

Uh, yeah, this is what this does. It does a couple things. It helps, uh, line up the funding to, uh, be ongoing so that, uh, they can have some consistency in this fund, in this new committee. And then it also changes, uh, the severance tax in across the state to from $50 million per mine to, for critical minerals to $10 million per mine for all other minerals. Reduces it from 20 years to five years and it eliminates the ability to sign tax credit, cerate certi certificates to another entity. Um, and so it just focuses it, uh, in line with the rest of the bill.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Uh, will the sponsor, yield Representative, will you yield?

Yes. Yes. Representative Watkins.

Um, are you aware, um, that one of the things you're doing in this bill will totally defund the air quality program that's going on in Uintah County, Uh, that is not, uh, as part of this substitute and that's not an, uh, included in this substitute? One more question, Mr. Speaker by one more question. Mr. Speaker Representative, will you continue to yield?

Uh, yes. Yes. Representative

In, in this substitute, there is a part where you, you are changing the infrastructure, uh, interest and that is where this program is funded from. Um, I just, I just want to say that we obviously have rural concerns because the Uinta Basin is one of the areas where we have to have attainment reached because of the industries there. So, uh, for that reason, um, I'm going to oppose this, um, substitute. Thank you Mr. Speaker

So yes, I was curious if she had a line item she can reference. I, uh, that's not the intent of the substitute and not included in the substitute language that, that, uh, we put in. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Uh, we're very concerned about this Bill. I have not seen, uh, the, the substitute I would appreciate. Oops. I wish I'd have said a motion to reserve the right.

I'm, I'm in, in order here. I wanted to reserve the right to make a motion, but, uh, I, I've spoke so I'm not sure I can do that.

Right When I started and, and, and I didn't get start, I didn't start properly.

Uh, yes, I would. Uh, I I share the, the same, uh, concerns and we're very concerned out in the N basin with, uh, with this, uh, bill because it does hinder the, the ability that we've, uh, developed in order to deal with our air quality out there. You know, just like the, the Wasatch front over here we get, uh, a bad inversion with ozone. And, uh, it, it, the, the bill creates a, it takes money away from our, uh, from our opportunity to study the, the era out there. And I appreciate the, the good speaker from Carbon County, or the good representative from Carbon County, um, mentioning that also.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So this substitute's very important for, uh, one main reason. And that is, is it retains the ability to appropriate these funds from the legislature. So currently the, the previous sub delegates that authority to the critical minerals committee. Uh, and so we wanna make sure that we continue to retain our appropriation and control of the purse strings. And so I would urge you to pass the third substitute. Thank you.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Motion to circle.

Yeah, I, I think it would be very short order to be able to, uh, to just address this issue so that we make sure we get it right.

Circle. I would like to make a substitute motion to circle,

Uh, I would reject that motion. We are in good space. Uh, unit County is near and dear to my heart. I go out there frequently. We are working closely to make sure this bill is in line with, uh, keeping good air quality out there. And, uh, we'll make sure that, uh, any issues are, uh, they're not included in this substitute, but we'll make sure that it is not negatively impacting the air quality in you county.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in opposition to the motion to circle, um, PR procedurally colleagues. Just so that you're aware. Our rules indicate that we must pass all budget bills by 12 o'clock. And so the clock on this is ticking. Also, I think that this, this has been worked out. That's why we're on a third sub. So if we have legitimate concerns, which I'm sure they are from the basin, none of us want to see that penalized in any way. Um, the, we have fought long and hard as a body to make sure that the overly prescriptive regulation that comes onto EPA out of EPA as it relates to non-attainment zones is addressed. So if there are, are additional ways we need to clarify that perhaps in a, as a function of the budget that has not passed, I think those discussions are still available, but for a motion to circle at this juncture has a high probability of killing the bill.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is a very important thing. Uh, the clarification, uh, the, the second substitutes, all that was available to me this morning when we were, uh, discussing it with my folks back home. And I would think that we could, uh, if this, uh, third substitute is good, I don't see any reason why we couldn't circle it. And I could, uh, at least look at the third substitute to see what the heck's going on there. And, uh, it wouldn't take very long to bring it back. So I would appreciate the body allowing us the time to circle this. I, I understand the, the concern of the, of the good majority leader, but I don't see, uh, that we've gotta change anything. I just wanna see what the heck's going on with the third substitute.

Uh, yes. I, I concur with the, uh, good representative from ENA County. I think it's a very quick fix. We just need to make sure we get it right.

Thank you. I appreciate the concern. We will work hard to make sure there is no negative air impact and you in a basin, you in a county. Um, that is it. Thank you.

Thank you. Motion to adopt house amendment number one in the third substitute.

Uh, this is just making a couple code, clarifications and date changes to come in line with that substitute, making sure everything lines up.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. SB 2 24 is, uh, critical minerals, uh, deals with critical minerals. The federal government recognizes 60 critical minerals as essential to our supply chain in the United States. Our national defense and our national economy. 50 of those 60 critical minerals are found here in Utah. So this has been a months long effort, uh, going back six months at least, to bring, uh, key stakeholders from along across the state, as well as our federal counterparts in DC to coordinate efforts with the federal government and make sure that Utah is leading out on this effort across the country. It helps align, uh, our legislative, uh, laws. And this, that's what this bill does, is it helps get the ball rolling where we'll create a committee, we'll create an industry where it focuses on the mining of these critical minerals, the processing of these critical minerals and the manufacturing of these critical minerals, bringing multiple different, uh, segments of our economy and our community together, as well as our higher education with University Utah, which is one of 11 mining universities in the country. Uh, that will create a, a focus on this, uh, this approach. And the goal is to be a producer of, of mining 20 to 25% of the nation's critical minerals, and being able to process 50% of the nation's critical minerals and really be a leader and lead out, uh, across the entire country in this space. This will be a big part of our future and, uh, I'm excited to be a part of it. And so should you, uh, be welcome to any questions and or comments. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Um, we worked on this bill for all during Interim Critical Minerals is an important part of, uh, state of Utah going forward. I just have some concerns about, uh, the severance tax as, as do the folks that live in oil and gas regions. I, I think I know you do. I know you want a strong mining industry. We've talked about that this morning, but I think there's some fallacies in this bill that need a little more discussion, uh, concerning severance, how it affects you in a basin, how it affects mining. I've got a lot of mining projects going on in my district, some with, uh, critical minerals and some with coal and other things. I, I'm a little bit concerned that I'm quite a bit concerned, I guess, about where we're at, where we're headed. I think we need to have the discussion, Mr. Speaker, and I don't know whether we do that. If we pass the bill, we, uh, it's gonna create some issues. If we don't pass the bill, it's gonna create some issues, but we need, we need some discussion. Mr. Speaker. And I think you would agree, uh, you, you've, you've said this morning that you're a strong proponent of a, a vibrant mining industry where we have 50 of the 60 critical minerals. I just, I just have some concerns, Mr. Speaker. Uh, maybe we can address those during interim and come back and, and, and do what's fair for everybody for the state. I understand what the, the budget director from Utah County was saying, uh, and I think that needs to be a part of the bill. But let's, let's have the discussion. Uh, let's, let's bring it back and, and work out some of these kinks. Mr. Speaker, that's, that's about all I can say at this point. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, critical Minerals is really talking about our future. And so we need to make sure that we are looking out for how these are paid for and how we're utilizing those funds. And so I would urge that you pass the third substitute, and we can continue to work upon this issue. But this is an important policy issue for the state of Utah and what is gonna happen down the road, the next generations. So think about the people who are gonna come 30, 40, and 50 years from now, not about what's happening today. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, I mean this, uh, is, is very important to the state. Uh, what the, the part that, uh, is, uh, affecting you in a basin. I anticipate with some, uh, further discussion, we'll be all right. It's too bad that this bill's, uh, Blanding, uh, on the timing of our, of our session right now, but I definitely feel like that it will be able to take care of this. Uh, it's just something that's a serious concern in the basin. Thanks for, uh, for the discussion on this bill.

Thank you. I appreciate the representative's concerns from Richfield and from the Basin. Uh, this is the future of this entire critical mineral industry in Utah and the country. This is urgent, and, uh, there is a sense of urgency with this because we are working with federal partners to get significant federal funds and get this start rolling out the door. Uh, several of our community partners here from the Inland Port, university of Utah, the Mining Association, the Manufacturing Association, uh, goo Goed, nucleus 47 G. We've all been part of this, including our state agencies, including the Division of Natural Resources, division of Environmental Quality, uh, office of Energy Development. We've all been part of these discussions and nobody wants to see any negative impact. We'll make sure it's a priority as this keeps moving forward. But this is a, uh, a critical bill that is, sorry for the pun, no pun intended. But this is a, a very important, uh, part of our future industry here in Utah. And, uh, would love your, your vote.

Uh, yeah, this is what this does. It does a couple things. It helps, uh, line up the funding to, uh, be ongoing so that, uh, they can have some consistency in this fund, in this new committee. And then it also changes, uh, the severance tax in across the state to from $50 million per mine to, for critical minerals to $10 million per mine for all other minerals. Reduces it from 20 years to five years and it eliminates the ability to sign tax credit, cerate certi certificates to another entity. Um, and so it just focuses it, uh, in line with the rest of the bill.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Uh, will the sponsor, yield Representative, will you yield?

Yes. Yes. Representative Watkins.

Um, are you aware, um, that one of the things you're doing in this bill will totally defund the air quality program that's going on in Uintah County, Uh, that is not, uh, as part of this substitute and that's not an, uh, included in this substitute?

Uh, yes. Yes. Representative

In, in this substitute, there is a part where you, you are changing the infrastructure, uh, interest and that is where this program is funded from. Um, I just, I just want to say that we obviously have rural concerns because the Uinta Basin is one of the areas where we have to have attainment reached because of the industries there. So, uh, for that reason, um, I'm going to oppose this, um, substitute.

Thank you Mr. Speaker

I, uh, that's not the intent of the substitute and not included in the substitute language that, that, uh, we put in. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Uh, we're very concerned about this Bill. I have not seen, uh, the, the substitute I would appreciate. Oops. I wish I'd have said a motion to reserve the right. Thank you representative. Yeah, I'm not finished. Ms. Speaker. Oh, sorry. I'm not sure. I'm, I'm in, in order here. I wanted to reserve the right to make a motion, but, uh, I, I've spoke so I'm not sure I can do that. Uh, you have to reserve the right representative before I know Right When I started and, and, and I didn't get start, I didn't start properly. Would you like to continue to speak representative? Pardon Me? Would you like to continue to speak? Uh, yes, I would. Uh, I I share the, the same, uh, concerns and we're very concerned out in the N basin with, uh, with this, uh, bill because it does hinder the, the ability that we've, uh, developed in order to deal with our air quality out there. You know, just like the, the Wasatch front over here we get, uh, a bad inversion with ozone. And, uh, it, it, the, the bill creates a, it takes money away from our, uh, from our opportunity to study the, the era out there. And I appreciate the, the good speaker from Carbon County, or the good representative from Carbon County, um, mentioning that also.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So this substitute's very important for, uh, one main reason. And that is, is it retains the ability to appropriate these funds from the legislature. So currently the, the previous sub delegates that authority to the critical minerals committee. Uh, and so we wanna make sure that we continue to retain our appropriation and control of the purse strings. And so I would urge you to pass the third substitute. Thank you.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Motion to circle. Thank you, representative. That motion is in order. Uh, would you like to speak to that? Yeah, I, I think it would be very short order to be able to, uh, to just address this issue so that we make sure we get it right.

Circle. I would like to make a substitute motion to circle,

Uh, I would reject that motion. We are in good space. Uh, unit County is near and dear to my heart. I go out there frequently. We are working closely to make sure this bill is in line with, uh, keeping good air quality out there. And, uh, we'll make sure that, uh, any issues are, uh, they're not included in this substitute, but we'll make sure that it is not negatively impacting the air quality in you county.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in opposition to the motion to circle, um, PR procedurally colleagues. Just so that you're aware. Our rules indicate that we must pass all budget bills by 12 o'clock. And so the clock on this is ticking. Also, I think that this, this has been worked out. That's why we're on a third sub. So if we have legitimate concerns, which I'm sure they are from the basin, none of us want to see that penalized in any way. Um, the, we have fought long and hard as a body to make sure that the overly prescriptive regulation that comes onto EPA out of EPA as it relates to non-attainment zones is addressed. So if there are, are additional ways we need to clarify that perhaps in a, as a function of the budget that has not passed, I think those discussions are still available, but for a motion to circle at this juncture has a high probability of killing the bill.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is a very important thing. Uh, the clarification, uh, the, the second substitutes, all that was available to me this morning when we were, uh, discussing it with my folks back home. And I would think that we could, uh, if this, uh, third substitute is good, I don't see any reason why we couldn't circle it. And I could, uh, at least look at the third substitute to see what the heck's going on there. And, uh, it wouldn't take very long to bring it back. So I would appreciate the body allowing us the time to circle this. I, I understand the, the concern of the, of the good majority leader, but I don't see, uh, that we've gotta change anything. I just wanna see what the heck's going on with the third substitute.

Uh, yes. I, I concur with the, uh, good representative from ENA County. I think it's a very quick fix. We just need to make sure we get it right.

Thank you. I appreciate the concern. We will work hard to make sure there is no negative air impact and you in a basin, you in a county. Um, that is it. Thank you.

Thank you. Motion to adopt house amendment number one in the third substitute.

Uh, this is just making a couple code, clarifications and date changes to come in line with that substitute, making sure everything lines up.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. SB 2 24 is, uh, critical minerals, uh, deals with critical minerals. The federal government recognizes 60 critical minerals as essential to our supply chain in the United States. Our national defense and our national economy. 50 of those 60 critical minerals are found here in Utah. So this has been a months long effort, uh, going back six months at least, to bring, uh, key stakeholders from along across the state, as well as our federal counterparts in DC to coordinate efforts with the federal government and make sure that Utah is leading out on this effort across the country. It helps align, uh, our legislative, uh, laws. And this, that's what this bill does, is it helps get the ball rolling where we'll create a committee, we'll create an industry where it focuses on the mining of these critical minerals, the processing of these critical minerals and the manufacturing of these critical minerals, bringing multiple different, uh, segments of our economy and our community together, as well as our higher education with University Utah, which is one of 11 mining universities in the country. Uh, that will create a, a focus on this, uh, this approach. And the goal is to be a producer of, of mining 20 to 25% of the nation's critical minerals, and being able to process 50% of the nation's critical minerals and really be a leader and lead out, uh, across the entire country in this space. This will be a big part of our future and, uh, I'm excited to be a part of it. And so should you, uh, be welcome to any questions and or comments. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Um, we worked on this bill for all during Interim Critical Minerals is an important part of, uh, state of Utah going forward. I just have some concerns about, uh, the severance tax as, as do the folks that live in oil and gas regions. I, I think I know you do. I know you want a strong mining industry. We've talked about that this morning, but I think there's some fallacies in this bill that need a little more discussion, uh, concerning severance, how it affects you in a basin, how it affects mining. I've got a lot of mining projects going on in my district, some with, uh, critical minerals and some with coal and other things. I, I'm a little bit concerned that I'm quite a bit concerned, I guess, about where we're at, where we're headed. I think we need to have the discussion, Mr. Speaker, and I don't know whether we do that. If we pass the bill, we, uh, it's gonna create some issues. If we don't pass the bill, it's gonna create some issues, but we need, we need some discussion. Mr. Speaker. And I think you would agree, uh, you, you've, you've said this morning that you're a strong proponent of a, a vibrant mining industry where we have 50 of the 60 critical minerals. I just, I just have some concerns, Mr. Speaker. Uh, maybe we can address those during interim and come back and, and, and do what's fair for everybody for the state. I understand what the, the budget director from Utah County was saying, uh, and I think that needs to be a part of the bill. But let's, let's have the discussion. Uh, let's, let's bring it back and, and work out some of these kinks. Mr. Speaker, that's, that's about all I can say at this point. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, critical Minerals is really talking about our future. And so we need to make sure that we are looking out for how these are paid for and how we're utilizing those funds. And so I would urge that you pass the third substitute, and we can continue to work upon this issue. But this is an important policy issue for the state of Utah and what is gonna happen down the road, the next generations. So think about the people who are gonna come 30, 40, and 50 years from now, not about what's happening today. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, I mean this, uh, is, is very important to the state. Uh, what the, the part that, uh, is, uh, affecting you in a basin. I anticipate with some, uh, further discussion, we'll be all right. It's too bad that this bill's, uh, Blanding, uh, on the timing of our, of our session right now, but I definitely feel like that it will be able to take care of this. Uh, it's just something that's a serious concern in the basin. Thanks for, uh, for the discussion on this bill.

Thank you. I appreciate the representative's concerns from Richfield and from the Basin. Uh, this is the future of this entire critical mineral industry in Utah and the country. This is urgent, and, uh, there is a sense of urgency with this because we are working with federal partners to get significant federal funds and get this start rolling out the door. Uh, several of our community partners here from the Inland Port, university of Utah, the Mining Association, the Manufacturing Association, uh, goo Goed, nucleus 47 G. We've all been part of this, including our state agencies, including the Division of Natural Resources, division of Environmental Quality, uh, office of Energy Development. We've all been part of these discussions and nobody wants to see any negative impact. We'll make sure it's a priority as this keeps moving forward. But this is a, uh, a critical bill that is, sorry for the pun, no pun intended. But this is a, a very important, uh, part of our future industry here in Utah. And, uh, would love your, your vote.

Um, we've been discussing, um, between the House and the Senate and it's now time for a conference committee so we can

Thank you, Mr. President. But do I have a personal privilege before I do that? Please.

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Thank you Mr. Speaker. Motion to adopt the conference committee report.

Yeah. Uh, it was a success. Everyone came together, uh, and we worked together to make sure that everyone landed in a good spot. Both sides feel good about it. And I wanted to reassure the, uh, concerns yesterday with the our friends from the unit basin that, uh, as I mentioned yesterday, we were gonna make sure that that funding stayed and that that would, uh, be watched over and in Good in good care.