On October 11, 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1319 into law, establishing a new California Endangered Species Act (CESA) mechanism for California to extend state-level endangered species protections to species that may lose federal safeguards under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). The statute empowers the California Department…
The definition of “critical minerals” has become a pivotal issue in 2025, determining not only which mining projects receive expedited federal permitting and funding, but also which deposits gain protection from incompatible development under California law. As the federal government races to secure domestic supply chains through accelerated approvals, California…
The U.S. Department of the Interior (“DOI”) has announced “emergency” permitting procedures to accelerate energy and critical mineral projects (DOI official announcement here) under Executive Order (“EO”) 14156, Declaring a National Energy Emergency. These changes prioritize rapid approvals for energy projects that meet eligibility criteria, with unprecedented, streamlined processes under…
The Trump administration has unveiled the first 10 mining projects designated for accelerated federal permitting under Executive Order 14157, Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production, which prioritizes expedited permitting, federal land leasing, and funding of mining projects (discussed in our previous blogpost here). Published by the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering…
Following President Trump’s March 20, 2025, Executive Order (“EO”) 14157, “Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production” (discussed in our blogpost here), and recent recognition of valid existing rights to continue mining for gold and rare earth elements at the Colosseum Mine (see our blogpost here blog), the administration has…
This week, the U.S. Department of the Interior (“DOI”) publicly confirmed the ongoing rights of Colosseum Rare Metals, Inc. (“CRM”) to continue mining operations at the Colosseum Mine, located within the Mojave National Preserve (“MOJA”) in San Bernardino County, California. The Department’s communication reaffirms that CRM holds “valid existing rights”…
On the heels of President Trump’s January 20, 2025, Executive Order “Unleashing American Energy” promoting domestic energy and resource independence, he is promoting United States natural resources with Executive Order (“EO”) 14157, “Immediate Measure to Increase American Mineral Production,” issued March 20 to spotlight and bolster domestic mining. The President’s…
By Kerry Shapiro On September 9, 2021, the House Environmental and Natural Resources (“ENR”) Committee finished its mark-up of the $3.5 trillion reconciliation budget measure. Inserted at the very end of the 117-page mark-up is Section 70807: Hardrock Mining, which is a quiet attempt to reform the Mining Law of…
On December 9, 2020, the California Energy Commission (CEC) appointed nine members of the new Blue Ribbon Commission on Lithium Extraction in California (Lithium Valley Commission). The appointments were made pursuant to Assembly Bill 1657 (Garcia, Chapter 271, 2020) (AB 1657), which was signed into law by Governor Newsom on…
By Kerry Shapiro Last week, President Trump signed an executive order with potentially wide-ranging implications for the mining industry and many other affected stakeholders. The order directs the Department of the Interior (DOI) to review national monuments, particularly those larger than 100,000 acres, that were designated since January 1, 1996,…