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8 LONG TITLE
9 Committee Note:
10 The Federalism Commission recommended this bill.
11 Legislative Vote: 8 voting for 0 voting against 1 absent
12 General Description:
13 This resolution recognizes the state of Utah's unique position as an essential source for
14 critical minerals and encourages cooperation between state and federal stakeholders to
15 take full advantage of the essential critical minerals and rare earth elements found in the
16 state of Utah.
17 Highlighted Provisions:
18 This resolution:
19 ▸ recognizes Utah as a known source of 28 of the 35 current federally listed critical
20 minerals necessary for national defense and economic prosperity;
21 ▸ recognizes that Utah consistently ranks as a top 10 state for mining with a 2020
22 estimated $3.7 billion in mining production value;
23 ▸ recognizes that renewable energy production is increasing across the state and the
24 country and there is a heightened need for critical minerals, rare earth elements, and
25 many other minerals, including copper, to meet the infrastructure, collection,
26 distribution, and transmission requirements to foster a reliable and affordable
27 energy economy;
28 ▸ recognizes that critical minerals and traditional mineral resources are also used for a
29 variety of other essential purposes beyond energy production, including
30 manufacturing, technology, defense, aerospace, fertilizer, and medical application;
31 and
32 ▸ resolves that the state of Utah and relevant federal agencies work together to
33 promote national security, economic prosperity, and sustainability through efficient
34 promotion and utilization of the many resources of the state of Utah.
35 Special Clauses:
36 None
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38 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
39 WHEREAS, the population of the state of Utah is increasing and there exists an urgent
40 need to develop additional collection, distribution, and transmission infrastructure to ensure a
41 reliable and affordable energy future;
42 WHEREAS, President Joseph R. Biden's Executive Order 14017 on Americas Supply
43 Chains identifies critical minerals and rare earth elements as essential to the American
44 economy;
45 WHEREAS, the Biden Administration's Report on Building Resilient Supply Chains
46 finds that The United States must secure reliable and sustainable supplies of critical minerals
47 and metals to ensure resilience across United States' manufacturing and defense needs, and do
48 so in a manner consistent with America's labor, environmental, equity and other values;
49 WHEREAS, Utah is an all-of-the-above energy state;
50 WHEREAS, fostering an innovative traditional and renewable energy economy is a
51 growing trend with widespread support within the state and across the nation;
52 WHEREAS, approximately 23% of Utah, or 12,628,600 acres, receives the highest
53 level of protection available as national parks, wilderness areas, national monuments, and other
54 highly restricted Federal lands;
55 WHEREAS, the state of Utah is a state consisting of approximately 71% of Utah or
56 Utah's land area, over 38,578,390 acres as public lands;
57 WHEREAS, the state of Utah opposes landscape scale designations that limit access to
58 public lands for energy development, mineral extraction, and other practices;
59 WHEREAS, access to public lands is needed in many cases for energy production and
60 to obtain mineral resources required for infrastructure development;
61 WHEREAS, it is not possible or economically feasible to promote a renewable energy
62 economy without the mining industry;
63 WHEREAS, Utah is a top ten state for mining with a 2020 estimated mineral
64 production value of $3.7 billion;
65 WHEREAS, the people of Utah have a long history of successful stewardship and
66 reclamation over the state's resources;
67 WHEREAS, the federal government has established a list of critical minerals for
68 national defense and economic prosperity;
69 WHEREAS, Utah has known sources of 28 of the 35 current federally listed critical
70 mineral resources;
71 WHEREAS, Utah is the primary global provider of beryllium, the only domestic
72 producer of magnesium metal, and one of only two states producing lithium;
73 WHEREAS, the Bingham Canyon Mine produces platinum, palladium, rhenium, and
74 soon will produce tellurium from byproducts of copper, gold, and silver mining;
75 WHEREAS, the federal critical mineral list does not contain all mineral resources
76 required to facilitate a renewable energy industry or infrastructure development;
77 WHEREAS, copper is Utah's most valuable metal commodity and is required for all
78 energy projects and transmission infrastructure;
79 WHEREAS, uranium is readily available in Utah and uranium is now considered a fuel
80 mineral and is consequently not eligible for listing under the federal list for critical minerals;
81 and
82 WHEREAS, the combination of land access, mining, and energy development provide
83 economic support for citizens of the state and allow for affordable energy resources:
84 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
85 Governor concurring therein, expresses through this resolution the necessity of ensuring access
86 to public lands, the continuation of the mineral extraction industry in Utah, and sustainable
87 development of renewable energy on public lands and through the state of Utah.
88 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor find that Federal
89 designations of Utah's lands and waters can hinder the efforts of the state and federal agencies
90 to promote national security and economic prosperity.
91 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor find that the state
92 of Utah is a public land state that stands able and willing to promote mineral extraction and the
93 development of energy resources, including renewable energy resources, for the citizens of
94 Utah and other Americans.