EMA to Congress: It’s Time to Bring Permitting Reform Legislation to the Table

Arlington, Va., July 21, 2025 — The Essential Minerals Association (EMA) encourages the House of Representatives to pass both H.R. 3898, the Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure Today (PERMIT) Act, and H.R. 689, the Full Responsibility and Expedited Enforcement (FREE) Act, to improve the broken federal permitting process.

“Everyone supports reasonable and appropriate measures to protect our environment.  Unfortunately, we have seen federal agencies reach beyond their authorities to impose burdensome regulations that have led the United States to become overly reliant on hostile foreign nations such as China and Russia as a result,” said Chris Greissing, EMA president. “We are in desperate need of common-sense legislation like H.R. 3898 and 689 to reform our broken permitting system and make investing in the United States and its vast mineral resources economically viable. Streamlining our permit system will stabilize our manufacturing supply chains and provide the consistency and clarity that businesses need to make significant, long-term investments in our economy.”

The current federal permitting process is fundamentally broken and represents a significant obstacle toward the completion of construction, energy, and infrastructure projects, including mining and processing facilities operated by EMA members. Many federal permitting processes are slow, duplicative, and inefficient, causing projects to be delayed by years or even decades, which deters companies from developing much needed mineral extraction and processing operations.

The PERMIT Act would introduce reforms to the Clean Water Act (CWA) and provide clarity and certainty that has been lacking in the permit process. The current process under the CWA is excessively slow and complex with standards that are technically and practically unachievable. Those seeking permits need – and deserve – clarity, efficiency, predictability, and adherence to the law while going through the process.

The FREE Act would streamline federal permitting processes by implementing Permit by Rule processes at federal agencies. Under this rule, federal agencies would deem permit applications to be approved within 180 days if it meets preconditions. This allows agencies to process permits much faster than the current case-by-case system agencies use.

These reforms will provide a streamlined approach to permitting while also maintaining the safeguards needed to protect the environment. This legislation is vital to the necessary growth of our domestic minerals sector to allow the United States to become less reliant on hostile nations, such as China and Russia, for minerals that are vital to our national security, economy, and everyday life.

“It is time for Congress to provide businesses with the legislative and regulatory certainty they need to invest in the United States,” Greissing added. “We encourage bipartisan support in passing these bills and beginning the process of fixing our permitting system. We greatly appreciate House Water Subcommittee Chair David Rouzer (R-NC) and Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT) for their leadership of the PERMIT Act and FREE Act, respectively.”

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The Essential Minerals Association (EMA) is the representative voice for companies that extract and process a vital and beneficial group of raw materials and minerals, which are the essential ingredients for many of the products used in everyday life. EMA ensures that the voices of its member companies and the socio-economic benefits they provide – from mining to end-use products – are heard by government leaders as well as the general public. Visit essentialminerals.org to learn more.