The Appropriations - Education and Environment Division on Tuesday agreed by committee consensus to add staffing and selected project funding for the Department of Mineral Resources after department leaders outlined priorities for the next biennium.

The committee approved three full-time positions recommended by Governor Armstrong, authorized converting an existing administrative position to a geologist role and agreed to $400,000 in state funds for a follow-up critical-minerals drilling study. Committee members also approved a reduced $150,000 request for a planned paleontological excavation and accepted funding for a portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) unit to speed mineral analysis.

Why it matters: committee members and Department of Mineral Resources officials said the items will let the state continue work begun in the last biennium identifying rare-earth and other critical-mineral concentrations and keep needed technical capacity in-house. Department staff argued modest state spending now could leverage much larger federal or private grants later.

Department testimony and committee discussion
Nathan Anderson, identified in testimony as director of the Department of Mineral Resources, walked the committee through the department’s optional requests and priorities, including permitting and field staff positions and a multi-part drilling project focused on critical minerals. Anderson and Ed Murphy, the state geologist, told senators the department has existing staff and equipment but needs funding to continue and expand sampling and analysis work begun with prior state dollars and some DOE grant applications. Murphy said earlier core sampling indicated elevated rare-earth elements and that an in-house portable XRF had already provided thousands of data points on last year’s cores.

Assistant director Mark Voorhees explained a proposed programming position for a Class 6 injection database (related to underground injection control primacy for Class 6 wells) and said a national, vendor-built database shared across states would likely be used; the programming FTE would help modify and administer the system locally. Voorhees said states gaining primacy were beginning implementation and that the department anticipates needing the position in the second year of the next biennium.

Fiscal and timing clarifications
Robin Loomer, the department’s fiscal manager, told senators some litigation and witness-fee accounts had carryover balances and that specific items could be funded from existing fund balances or via continuing appropriation accounts. Murphy and Anderson corrected an earlier figure: the drilling project request is $400,000, not $500,000. The committee accepted that revision.

Committee decisions and next steps
By consensus the committee directed staff to include funding for:
- three FTEs recommended by Governor Armstrong (per testimony),
- conversion of the vacant administrative position into a geologist (operational cost and salary adjustment),
- $400,000 for the critical-minerals drilling phase, and
- $150,000 (reduced from $300,000) for the woolly mammoth excavation project.
Committee members also left in place the department’s $3 million litigation fund and asked staff to include the portable XRF capital purchase and a modest $15,000 for an enhanced oil-recovery information project.

Senators pressed department staff on timelines and on how much of the work could be funded from federal grants or other funds. Department leaders said some work could be carried forward into the next biennium under existing fund authorities but that the listed appropriations would let them schedule studies and vendor contracts sooner. The committee asked staff to reflect the approvals in the long-sheet amendment and to revisit any items that require statutory language changes.

Ending note: The department and committee staff said long-sheet language and funding sources (general fund vs. special funds or transfers) will be reconciled in the amendment drafted for next committee review.