A coalition of state environmental officials is urging the Department of Energy to finalize a plan for the long-term storage of U.S. stocks of elemental mercury. In a letter sent yesterday to Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, the “Quicksilver Caucus” called on DOE to seek sufficient funds in Fiscal Year 2013 and subsequent years to finalize a Record of Decision selecting a site for long-term mercury storage and to make a national mercury storage facility operational. DOE was given the responsibility for long-term mercury storage under the 2008 Mercury Export Ban Act, which called for a storage facility to be operational by Jan. 1, 2013. “The implementation of this legislation remains a priority to the states because of mercury’s potent toxicity to the developing brain in children,” the letter states. “We urge DOE to complete this work as expeditiously as possible.” The Quicksilver Caucus consists of the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS), the Association of Clean Water Administrators (ACWA), the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials (ASTSWMO), the National Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA), the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA) and the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable (NPPR).
The planned mercury storage facility is expected to hold 7,500-10,000 metric tons of material over 40 years. Last year, DOE issued a final environmental impact statement designating Waste Control Specialists’ Andrews, Texas, site as the preferred alternative for a mercury storage site. Other sites considered included Hanford, the Savannah River Site, the Kansas City Plant, the Idaho National Laboratory and the Grand Junction Disposal Site in Colorado, as well as the Hawthorne Army Depot in Nevada. DOE has not yet issued a Record of Decision on a storage site, though, and according to a Department presentation from last month, additional NEPA reviews are planned. “The schedule for development of the storage facility is to be determined,” says the presentation, given by Deputy Assistant Secretary for Waste Management Frank Marcinowski at a meeting of the Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board Chairs.
