The Biden administration unveiled a new policy Monday aimed at ensuring tribes are notified of proposals to explore for minerals on federally managed land — a move meant to boost early communication and avoid costly and time-consuming fights that often land in court.
The Bureau of Land Management, according to a memo sent to district offices, said that tribes will be notified of proposals companies submit to explore for minerals on federal land.
Such notifications — unlike more formal and developed plans of operation — do not require environmental analyses or consultation under laws like the Endangered Species Act or the National Historic Preservation Act. They may include using equipment to move earth, drill or conduct sampling, or other equipment used to assess what minerals might exist on federal land, according to the memo.
BLM said the policy is a direct response to tribes’ concerns about a lack of communication around new mining projects, points that were made when an interagency working group last year released a host of recommendations to speed up mine approvals and revamp the nation’s 151-year-old law that governs hardrock mining.
