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Senate approves amended bill directing study of rare earth elements in North Dakota lignite
Summary
The North Dakota Senate adopted an amendment to House Bill 1459 to declare state policy on rare earth elements, require a formal study, and clarify ownership of those minerals on state lands; the bill then passed unanimously with an emergency clause.
Senator Behm, chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, told colleagues the committee replaced the original House language in House Bill 1459 with a narrower amendment that declares state policy on rare earth elements, mandates a formal study, and clarifies ownership on state lands.
The amendment was presented as a step to position North Dakota to develop domestic supplies of critical and rare earth minerals found in lignite coal seams. "North Dakota is well positioned to be that source," Behm said, adding that research led by the Lignite Energy Research Council and the EERC is "paving the way to extract these resources efficiently and responsibly." The amendment…
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