A Federal Strategy To Ensure Secure and Reliable Supplies of Critical Minerals, 60835-60837 [2017-27899]

Agencies

• Executive Office of the President

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 246 (Tuesday, December 26, 2017)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 60835-60837]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-27899]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 82 , No. 246 / Tuesday, December 26, 2017 / 
Presidential Documents

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

[[Page 60835]]

                Executive Order 13817 of December 20, 2017

                
A Federal Strategy To Ensure Secure and Reliable 
                Supplies of Critical Minerals

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

                Section 1. Findings. The United States is heavily 
                reliant on imports of certain mineral commodities that 
                are vital to the Nation's security and economic 
                prosperity. This dependency of the United States on 
                foreign sources creates a strategic vulnerability for 
                both its economy and military to adverse foreign 
                government action, natural disaster, and other events 
                that can disrupt supply of these key minerals. Despite 
                the presence of significant deposits of some of these 
                minerals across the United States, our miners and 
                producers are currently limited by a lack of 
                comprehensive, machine-readable data concerning 
                topographical, geological, and geophysical surveys; 
                permitting delays; and the potential for protracted 
                litigation regarding permits that are issued. An 
                increase in private-sector domestic exploration, 
                production, recycling, and reprocessing of critical 
                minerals, and support for efforts to identify more 
                commonly available technological alternatives to these 
                minerals, will reduce our dependence on imports, 
                preserve our leadership in technological innovation, 
                support job creation, improve our national security and 
                balance of trade, and enhance the technological 
                superiority and readiness of our Armed Forces, which 
                are among the Nation's most significant consumers of 
                critical minerals.

                Sec. 2. Definition. (a) A ``critical mineral'' is a 
                mineral identified by the Secretary of the Interior 
                pursuant to subsection (b) of this section to be (i) a 
                non-fuel mineral or mineral material essential to the 
                economic and national security of the United States, 
                (ii) the supply chain of which is vulnerable to 
                disruption, and (iii) that serves an essential function 
                in the manufacturing of a product, the absence of which 
                would have significant consequences for our economy or 
                our national security.

                    (b) The Secretary of the Interior, in coordination 
                with the Secretary of Defense and in consultation with 
                the heads of other relevant executive departments and 
                agencies (agencies), shall publish a list of critical 
                minerals in the Federal Register not later than 60 days 
                after the date of this order, and disseminate such list 
                to the appropriate agencies.

                Sec. 3. Policy. It shall be the policy of the Federal 
                Government to reduce the Nation's vulnerability to 
                disruptions in the supply of critical minerals, which 
                constitutes a strategic vulnerability for the security 
                and prosperity of the United States. The United States 
                will further this policy for the benefit of the 
                American people and in a safe and environmentally 
                responsible manner, by:

                    (a) identifying new sources of critical minerals;
                    (b) increasing activity at all levels of the supply 
                chain, including exploration, mining, concentration, 
                separation, alloying, recycling, and reprocessing 
                critical minerals;
                    (c) ensuring that our miners and producers have 
                electronic access to the most advanced topographic, 
                geologic, and geophysical data within U.S. territory to 
                the extent permitted by law and subject to appropriate 
                limitations for purposes of privacy and security, 
                including appropriate limitations to protect critical 
                infrastructure data such as those related to national 
                security areas; and

[[Page 60836]]

                    (d) streamlining leasing and permitting processes 
                to expedite exploration, production, processing, 
                reprocessing, recycling, and domestic refining of 
                critical minerals.

                Sec. 4. Implementation. (a) Within 180 days of the date 
                that the Secretary of the Interior publishes a list of 
                critical minerals under section 2 of this order, the 
                Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the 
                Secretaries of Defense, the Interior, Agriculture, and 
                Energy, and the United States Trade Representative, 
                shall submit a report to the President through the 
                Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, the 
                Assistant to the President for National Security 
                Affairs, the Director of the Office of Management and 
                Budget, and the Director of the Office of Science and 
                Technology Policy. The report shall include:

(i) a strategy to reduce the Nation's reliance on critical minerals;

(ii) an assessment of progress toward developing critical minerals 
recycling and reprocessing technologies, and technological alternatives to 
critical minerals;

(iii) options for accessing and developing critical minerals through 
investment and trade with our allies and partners;

(iv) a plan to improve the topographic, geologic, and geophysical mapping 
of the United States and make the resulting data and metadata 
electronically accessible, to the extent permitted by law and subject to 
appropriate limitations for purposes of privacy and security, to support 
private sector mineral exploration of critical minerals; and

(v) recommendations to streamline permitting and review processes related 
to developing leases; enhancing access to critical mineral resources; and 
increasing discovery, production, and domestic refining of critical 
minerals.

                    (b) Agencies shall implement subsection (a) of this 
                section in a manner consistent with, and when possible 
                complementary to, implementation of Executive Order 
                13771 of January 30, 2017 (Reducing Regulation and 
                Controlling Regulatory Costs), Executive Order 13783 of 
                March 28, 2017 (Promoting Energy Independence and 
                Economic Growth), Executive Order 13807 of August 15, 
                2017 (Establishing Discipline and Accountability in the 
                Environmental Review and Permitting Process for 
                Infrastructure Projects), and Executive Order 12866 of 
                September 30, 1993 (Regulatory Planning and Review).

                Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order 
                shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or 
the head thereof;

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals; or

(iii) existing treaties or international agreements relating to mineral 
production, imports, or exports.

                    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with 
                applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.

[[Page 60837]]

                    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, 
                create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable at law or in equity by any party against 
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or 
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any 
                other person.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    December 20, 2017.

[FR Doc. 2017-27899
Filed 12-22-17; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F8-P