'Turning Trash into Treasure’: Lawmakers Eye Domestic Critical Mineral Supply

The global race for energy innovation is heating up on Capitol Hill, with lawmakers and federal agencies now exploring new ways to source and recycle critical minerals domestically.

Critical minerals are vital raw materials for clean energy technologies, advanced electronics, and national defense systems. However, the minerals can be difficult to source due to a geographic concentration of supply chains, meaning the U.S. often relies on countries like China.

Recently, federal agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) have been developing technologies to combat this challenge, yet a comprehensive permitting framework is still lacking. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman and Representative Brett Guthrie said he thinks this is where Congress can help.

“This is an opportunity to modernize some of our major environmental laws to eliminate unnecessary barriers to stronger supply chains,” Rep. Guthrie said during a hearing this week, adding that geopolitical tensions and global competition have not made domestic sourcing any easier.

How Does the EPA ‘Turn Trash Into Treasure?’

Although Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX) said he is “encouraged” by DOE and EPA efforts to reduce reliance on foreign critical minerals, he questioned whether EPA can effectively find new ways to innovate the U.S.’s domestic supply chains. Greyson Buckingham, the co-founder, CEO and president of critical minerals technology company DISA Technologies, pointed to the EPA’s EMRTAI research program as an example.

Buckingham argues the program can create incentives through research support, funding or innovation programs to encourage companies to recover valuable minerals from waste streams and integrate them back into domestic supply chains.

“I think EMRTAI is a great first step in incentivizing how to recover these critical minerals and turn that trash into treasure,” said Greyson Buckingham, the co-founder, CEO and president of DISA Technologies, a critical minerals recovery technology company.

Buckingham added that states like Wyoming are investing in its own energy authority agency to maximize resources and strengthen domestic critical mineral recovery within the state.

“It's a signal to the private sector as well, that this is a major focus of the US government, and that there is potential for recovering significant minerals,” he said.

Staying In Sync

While shifting resources to new programs like this, Aaron Goldberg, principal at Beveridge & Diamond, a law and environmental policy firm, said federal agencies must keep their policies aligned—especially when regulating the collection and recycling of ion batteries, which can overheat and cause fires or explosions.

“They need to make sure that they're taking into account the existing rules that apply to fire risks, they take into account new developments of new battery chemistries and they also take into account the national goals of recovering the critical minerals from lithium fat batteries,” Goldberg said.

Goldberg said he thinks the EPA does have authority over fire risks, but so do other agencies like the National Fire Protection Association and the Department of Transportation.

“I question whether there's really a need for further EPA action here,” Goldberg said, adding that this example shows that the EPA may be imposing unnecessary oversight, expending resources that could go toward innovation.

Rep. Guthrie said that is why hearings like these take place, so agencies can remain aligned on critical mineral policy goals.

“It’s essential for all of our federal agencies to work together to make sure we’re all rowing in the same direction,” Rep. Guthrie said.