House bill defines sand and gravel as strategic, critical

The House of Representatives passed a bill that includes sand, gravel and minerals necessary for transportation infrastructure construction in the definition of strategic and critical minerals, the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association (NSSGA) reports.

Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., introduced the bill, which is titled the National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2015. The bill was introduced to expedite permitting to produce domestic sources of minerals that are deemed critically important to national security and economic and manufacturing competitiveness, according to NSSGA.

An amendment Rep. Alan Lowenthal, D-Calif., introduced that would have removed sand and gravel from the bill failed.

“We are pleased that the House has once again passed legislation that recognizes aggregates are essential to transportation infrastructure, particularly in times of natural disaster,” says Pam Whitted, NSSGA senior vice president for legislative and regulatory affairs. “Actions to further restrict development of these essential construction materials threaten stable supplies of them.”