View Rule

The Forest Service proposes the revision of its locatable mineral regulations to better reflect the needs of our national defense, economic prosperity, and environmental stewardship. The agency has identified many challenges in the current regulations, and revising the regulations to address these would allow the Forest Service to better implement its mining regulations. Specifically, the Forest Service is considering in this proposed rule to 1) better meet the purpose of the rule, which is to minimize, to the fullest extent practicable, adverse impacts to surface resources which may result from locatable mineral operations; 2) increase efficiency and transparency in the review process for proposed mineral operations; and 3) increase consistency with the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) surface management regulations. This rule will meet the Administration's goals of improving environmental stewardship while also providing more timely response, especially to proposed critical minerals operations. To inform development of this rulemaking effort, early and proactive engagement was held with the public through an advance notice of proposed rulemaking where public input was provided and considered on the rulemaking effort and with the tribal community through a tribal forum and government-to-government tribal consultation where feedback on the draft rule was provided and incorporated.