Protecting Domestic Mining Act of 2025

This bill aims to treat some mineral production activities as “covered projects” under the FAST Act. It also blocks a proposed federal rule that would change which mining projects qualify under that law. In short, it tries to keep more mining projects eligible for the FAST Act’s project coverage and stops the government from narrowing that scope through the 2023 proposed rule titled “Revising Scope of the Mining Sector of Projects That Are Eligible for Coverage Under Title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act” (88 Fed. Reg. 65350).

Key points:

• Who is affected: Mining projects and the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council.
• What changes: Adds certain mineral production activities as covered projects under the FAST Act; prohibits the Council from finalizing, implementing, or enforcing the 2023 proposed rule that would redefine mining coverage.
• When: Applies upon enactment; the blocked rule was proposed on September 22, 2023 (88 Fed. Reg. 65350).