Bear lodge project.

WORKING DRAFT

ORIGINAL
House
joint resolution
No
.
HJ0007

ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 1,

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SIXTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2015 General Session

A JOINT RESOLUTION to the United States Secretary of Agriculture and the Chief of the United States Forest Service expressing support for the timely and scheduled completion of Rare Element Resources' Bear Lodge Critical Rare Earth Project environmental impact statement.

WHEREAS,
Rare Element Resources propose
d
a small, high-grade open pit rare earth
minerals
mine on lands managed by the U
nited States
Forest Service in Crook County, Wyoming, that, because of
the land
'
s
high grade, critical rare earth content and
Rare Element Resources
'

technological achievements in processing is
being
recognized as America
'
s most advanced future domestic source of a secure supply of
rare earth
critical minerals; and

WHEREAS, the United States was once largely self-sufficient in rare earth element production but today
relies on imported rare earth critical
minerals
; and

WHEREAS, at least twenty-seven
(27)
federal reports and studies in recent years have described the increasingly dangerous state of American reliance on imports of critical minerals, including rare earth
mineral
s that will be
processed
from the Bear Lodge Project; and

WHEREAS, Rare Element Resources has identified a world

class project with strong project economics and at least a
forty-five (
45
)
year
project
life; and

WHEREAS, Rare Element Resources has established significant value in those rare earth
mineral
s that are deemed by the U
nited States Department of Energy to be
in highest demand and most susceptible to supply disruption; and

WHEREAS, Rare Element Resources has developed a proprietary rare earths recovery process on which four
(4)
patents have been filed; and

WHEREAS, the U
nited States
Department of Energy has invited Rare Element Resources to join the Department
'
s Critical Materials Institute, which develop
s
solutions to the domestic shortages of rare earth
minerals
and other
critical minerals essential to

America
'
s
energy and national security and find
s
innovative technology solutions to help America avoid a supply shortage that would threaten its clean energy industry
and
security interests; and

WHEREAS, Rare Element Resources is one of only seven
(7)
priv
ate
sector American companies chosen to join the
Department of Energy
'
s
Critical Materials Institute, which is composed of Am
erica
'
s leading researchers in
science from academia and four
(4) Department
of Energy

national laboratories
;
an
d

WHEREAS, Rare Element Resources
'
scheduled startup
of the Bear Lodge Project
depends on
the
timely completion of an
environmental impact statement
by the U
nited States
Forest Service
; and

WHEREAS, the Bear Lodge Project was originally scheduled
to begin commissioning
in the fourth quarter of 2016, but
has been delayed by
the U
nited States
Forest Service in preparing the
d
raft
environmental impact statement
; and

WHEREAS, the Bear Lodge Pr
oject has been identified as a project of national s
ignificance by the
United States
Department of Energy and meeting the
project
'
s
scheduled startup depends on
the
timely completion
of the
environmental impact statement
by the U
nited States
Forest Service
.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING:

Section 1.

That the
l
egislature of the
s
tate of Wyoming encourages the Secretary of Agriculture and the Chief of the U
nited States
Forest Service to understand the strategic national importance of the unique mineral resources to be produced from the Bear Lodge Project and the importance of establishing Rare Element Resources as
the top domestic
rare earth
mineral
s
producer
and one of the top produce
r
s
in the world by 2016
.

Section 2.

T
hat the
l
egislature of the
s
tate of Wyoming encourages the Secretary of Agriculture and the Chief of the U
nited States
Forest Service to work to establish deadlines for finalizing reasonable input to the Bear Lodge Project
e
nvironmental
i
mpact
s
tatement process
.

Section 3.

T
hat the
l
egislature of the
s
tate of Wyoming encourages the Secretary of Agriculture and the Chief of the U
nited States
Forest Service
to
promptly identify and implement the proper steps to accelerate and streamline the
e
nvironmental
i
mpact
s
tatement
of the
Bear Lodge Project
to
meet the schedule
originally set in 2014 by the United States
Forest Service for a
f
inal
environmental impact statement
and
r
ecord of
d
ecision in the
fourth quarter
of 2015, thus allowing
Rare Element Resources to begin commissioning in 2016
.

Section 4.

That the Secretary of State of Wyoming transmit copies of this resolution to the United States Secretary of Agriculture, the Chief of the United States Forest Service and to the Wyoming Congressional Delegation.

(END)

Speaker of the House

President of the Senate

Governor

TIME APPROVED: _________

DATE APPROVED: _________

I hereby certify that this act originated in the
House
.

Chief Clerk

1