Bill · S. 3879· Senate(119-S-3879)
Spent Petroleum Catalyst Recycling and Critical Minerals and Metals Recovery Exemption Act
- Introduced
- 2/12/2026
- Last activity
- 2/12/2026 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
- Sponsored by
- Jon Husted
- Cosponsors
- None
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
This bill, titled the "Spent Petroleum Catalyst Recycling and Critical Minerals and Metals Recovery Exemption Act," aims to secure domestic sources of vanadium for the steel, infrastructure, energy, and defense industries. It seeks to reduce reliance on foreign sources like China and Russia by allowing for the recycling of spent petroleum catalyst into ferrovanadium. The legislation directs the EPA Administrator to revise regulations under the Solid Waste Disposal Act to exempt certain reclamation units from Boilers and Industrial Furnaces requirements. This includes thermal treatment units and metallurgical units used to recover metals. The bill also clarifies the use of transfer-based exclusions when sending these materials to third parties for reclamation.
Yes· 3 of 6
Would business owners be better off under this?+5
The bill reduces regulatory burdens for industrial companies involved in metal recovery.
Is this likely to grow the economy?+4
By securing a domestic supply of critical minerals, the bill helps stabilize and grow the industrial and energy sectors.
Is this likely to create jobs?+3
The bill facilitates domestic industrial capacity for vanadium recovery, which supports manufacturing and energy sectors.
The opposite
Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see?-5
The bill explicitly allows the EPA to conduct rulemaking without the standard notice and comment requirements.
Does this better protect air, water and wildlife?-3
The bill bypasses the standard notice and comment period for EPA rulemaking, which can limit public environmental scrutiny.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
-
Increased National Security and Economic Resilience: By ensuring a domestic supply of vanadium, the bill seeks to protect the United States from strategic supply-chain threats from foreign economic and military enemies such as China and Russia (Section 2, Paragraph 1).
-
Support for Key Industry Sectors: Securing vanadium helps provide critical components for high-strength steel used in the domestic steel, defense, infrastructure, and energy sectors (Section 2, Paragraph 1).
-
Reduced Regulatory Burdens: The bill aims to avoid unnecessary regulatory burdens by exempting specific recovery units from Boilers and Industrial Furnaces requirements under the Solid Waste Disposal Act (Section 2, Paragraph 6; Section 3, Paragraph (a)(1)).
-
Encouraging Domestic Recovery: Clarifying regulations is intended to encourage environmentally safe domestic recovery of metals and critical minerals to ensure an affordable, resilient, and sustainable supply (Section 2, Paragraph 6).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- Bypassing Public Input: The required rulemaking by the EPA is to be carried out without regard to the notice and comment requirements usually found under section 553 of title 5, United States Code (Section 3, Paragraph (b)(2)).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Economy And Finance
- Improves Economic Growth+4Increases Job Creation+3
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Business Owners+5
- Governance And Ideology
- Increases Federal Power+2Improves Government Transparency-5
- Environment Energy And Infrastructure
- Improves Roads And Bridges+2Increases Renewable Energy Investment+2Improves Environmental Protections-3
- 2/12/2026
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
- Introduced in Senate
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.