April 20, 2025 - The Department of the Interior announced on Friday that it was adding a Warrior Met Coal Mines project to the FAST-41 permitting program. 

According to the Department of Interior, one of the projects added on Friday was a Warrior Met Coal Mines lease by application project for the expansion of two mines in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama.

The combined proposed lease area for both applications includes approximately 14,040 acres of split-estate lands. Warrior Met Coal is seeking to obtain leases for the extraction of metallurgical coal resources by means of underground longwall mining techniques.

FAST-41 is a legislatively established process for improving federal agency coordination and timeliness of environmental reviews for infrastructure projects, as established by Title 41 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act. This act established the FAST-41 review process and the Permitting Council to implement it. Through FAST-41, the Permitting Council provides focused, hands-on permitting support to infrastructure projects and improves efficiency through clearer timelines and better coordination across federal agencies. 

According to the Department of Interior, “One of the primary barriers to unlocking America’s mineral wealth is the lengthy and often duplicative permitting process, which can stretch seven to 10 years for a single mine. In contrast, countries like Australia and Canada complete permitting in as little as two to five years, giving them a competitive advantage in attracting investment and building resilient mineral supply chains. This permitting gridlock discourages domestic production, drives up costs for American manufacturers, and increases dependence on foreign adversaries. Projects get stuck in years of environmental reviews, agency overlap and inconsistent timelines—despite bipartisan acknowledgment that the United States must secure a domestic critical minerals strategy.”

“For too long, duplicative processes and regulatory paralysis have delayed the development of the minerals America needs to power everything from national defense systems to smartphones,” said acting assistant secretary for Land and Minerals Management Adam Suess. “By cutting red tape and increasing accountability, we’re making it clear that under President Trump, the United States is serious about being a global leader in critical minerals.”