[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 43 (Monday, March 5, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13308-13310]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-5171]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Defense Logistics Agency


Management of Excess Mercury; Expressions of Interest; 
Alternative Locations for the Long Term Storage of Mercury

AGENCY: Defense National Stockpile Center (DNSC), Defense.

[[Page 13309]]


ACTION: Notice of request for expression of interest.

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SUMMARY: The Defense National Stockpile Center (DNSC), part of the 
Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) within the Department of Defense (DoD), 
is preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) to assess several 
alternatives for the long term management or use of mercury that has 
been declared excess to national defense needs. As part of the EIS 
assessment, DNSC is requesting Expressions of Interest from interested 
federal agencies for potential locations for the long term (greater 
than 40 years) consolidated storage of the excess mercury. For the 
purposes of this EIS, the term ``long term management'' shall include 
any potential action to sell, treat, store, or dispose of such 
material. The DNSC inventory of approximately 4,890 tons of excess 
mercury is currently stored in warehouses at four locations. Suggested 
sites that are submitted for DNSC consideration would be evaluated to 
determine their reasonableness for inclusion as an alternative in the 
EIS. More detailed information on the EIS can be found in the February 
5, 2001 Federal Register (66 FR 8947). Information on the EIS may also 
be found at the Mercury Management EIS website at www.mercuryeis.com. 
Department of Energy (DOE) is a cooperating agency for the preparation 
of this EIS because some of DoD's excess mercury is currently stored at 
the DOE Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

DATES: Agencies wishing to make an Expression of Interest should do so 
in writing by April 30, 2001, to ensure their consideration.

ADDRESSES: Please submit Expressions of Interest to: Project Manager, 
Mercury Management EIS; DNSC-E; Defense Logistics Agency; Defense 
National Stockpile Center, 8725 John J. Kingman Road, Suite 4616, Fort 
Belvoir, VA 22060-6223.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background.

    DNSC is a mandatory source of supply for raw materials for all 
Federal agencies as required by the Federal acquisition Regulation, 
Part 8.002--Use of Other Government Supply Sources. The mercury in 
DLA's Stockpile has been declared excess to national defense needs and 
DNSC must decide on long term management of the excess mercury.
    The DNSC inventory of approximately 4,890 tons of excess mercury is 
currently stored in warehouses at four locations: Somerville, NJ; New 
Haven, IN; Oak Ridge, TN; and Warren, OH. Most of the excess inventory, 
about 2,882 tons (75,980 flasks) is stored at the Somerville Depot in 
Somerville, NJ. Approximately 770 tons (20,276 flasks) is stored at the 
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak 
Ridge, TN; and 621 tons (16,355 flasks) is stored at the Warren Depot 
in Warren, OH. The remainder, approximately 614 tons (16,151 flasks), 
is stored at the Casad Depot, located approximately 3 miles (4.8 
kilometers) east of New Haven, IN. Mercury is a dense, naturally 
occurring, silver-colored metallic element that is liquid at room 
temperature. sometimes called `quicksilver', liquid mercury has been 
used extensively in manufacturing because it readily conducts 
electricity, reacts to temperature changes, and alloys with other 
metals. Mercury is designated as a hazardous substance under Section 
307(a) of the Clean Water Act, Section 112 of the Clean Air Act, and 
Section 3001 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
    The DNSC mercury is between 99.5 and 99.9 percent pure. The 
material is currently stored in 3 liter, carbon steel flasks with each 
flask containing about 76 pounds (34.5 kilograms) of mercury. The 
flasks are stored in wooden box pallets equipped with drip pans, with 
50 to 60 flasks to a pallet. Some of the flasks were manufactured and 
date from the 1940's and 1950's, although the mercury at the Y-12 
National Security Complex was transferred into new flasks in 1975.
    DNSC, as custodian of the excess inventory of mercury, must decide 
on an approach for long term management or use of the material. As 
required by Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and DLA National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations, this decision must include 
consideration of a range of reasonable management alternatives and the 
environmental and socioeconomic impacts of those alternatives. 
Therefore, as announced in the Notice of Intent to prepare an 
environmental impact statement published in the Federal Register on 
February 5, 2001 (66 FR 8947), DNSC is evaluating a range of reasonable 
alternatives in the EIS. These alternatives include no action, and are 
likely to include consolidated long term storage, processing, disposal, 
and sales alternatives. Consolidated long term storage could occur at 
existing storage locations or at other locations. The purpose of this 
Notice is to determine if there is interest on the part of other 
federal agencies in hosting a consolidated storage facility. 
Consideration of any particular consolidation site in the EIS is not a 
guarantee of its selection. DNSC would likely hold public outreach 
(e.g., an EIS scoping meeting) in cooperation with the host agency to 
judge reaction to the proposal and would probably request that agency 
to be a cooperating agency under NEPA for the EIS.
    Request for Expression of Interest: DNSC requests Expressions of 
Interest from federal agencies on locations for storage of 
approximately 4,890 tons (128,762, 76-lb flasks) of mercury. This 
request for expression of interest published, in today's Federal 
Register, is the first step in the process to consider alternative 
sites for consolidated long term storage of the mercury. This request 
will help to ensure that the resulting long term management options 
will consider all reasonable alternatives. Because DNSC expects that 
each Agency's submission and site would have unique characteristics 
associated with its proposal, terms and conditions of use of any site 
would be negotiated to the mutual satisfaction of both agencies.
    DNSC will evaluate each submission to determine if it should be 
included as a reasonable alternative in the EIS, which will assess the 
environmental impacts of the various alternative management strategies. 
DNSC estimates that approximately 100,000 to 150,000 square feet of 
space would be required depending on the storage configuration to store 
the entire mercury stockpile with sufficient space between pallets to 
conduct routine inspections. DNSC requires that the space be in 
compliance with all current building codes and construction standards, 
and have a fire suppression system. In addition the temperature of the 
storage area must not exceed 70 degrees F; temperature can be limited 
by natural means or climate control. Since the mercury is an industrial 
commodity and the storage period to begin in 2003 and, for planning 
purposes, continue for 40 or more years.
    DNSC requires the following information for each proposed storage 
location:
    1. A map showing the location of the storage building on the site, 
nearby (within 10 miles) political boundaries, communities (especially 
minority, low income or Native American), roads, railroads, airports, 
water bodies, parkland, or other environmentally sensitive areas;
    2. A description of the site, including ownership, current 
activities, access control system, hazardous materials handling 
experience, mercury handling experience, current tenants, previous

[[Page 13310]]

regulatory compliance problems, and existing environmental 
contamination;
    3. A description of the storage building, if pre-existing, 
including date and type of construction including any special features 
which provide protection against leaks and external environmental 
hazards, fire suppression system, access control system, current 
activities and materials in storage, current tenants, and existing 
environmental contamination;
    4. Equipment, materials, and labor required to upgrade or construct 
the facility to accept long term mercury storage;
    5. Environmental and health and safety approvals required;
    6. Estimated cost, including construction, operations, and 
decontamination. Include a description of the basis for the estimate, 
and any assumptions; and
    7. Proposed schedule for providing a consolidation facility meeting 
the above requirements.
    Expression of Interest Format: The length of the Expression of 
Interest should be no more than 30 pages using 12-point font. While the 
responder may determine how best to use the 30 pages, we recommend the 
following format: SECTION I--Summary; SECTION 2--Description of 
Location with specific reference to the items requested by DNSC above; 
SECTION 3--Qualifications and experience of respondents in mercury 
storage operations or operations of similar complexity. When describing 
similar work that has been performed, include the name of the 
organization, contract number if applicable, and name and telephone 
number of the organization's point of contact and contracting officer.
    Proprietary Information: If the Expression of Interest contains 
information that is privileged or confidential and which the respondent 
does not want disclosed to the public or used by the Federal Government 
for any purpose other than this Notice, the respondent should place the 
following notice on the Expression of Interest. ``Notice: Data 
contained in these pages of this Expression of Interest have been 
submitted in confidence and contain trade secrets or commercial or 
financial information that is confidential or privileged, and such data 
should be used or disclosed only for purposes of consideration of this 
Expression of Interest. This restriction does not limit the 
Government's right to use or disclose data obtained without restriction 
from any source, including the respondent.'' The respondent should mark 
the pages that are considered ``Proprietary Information''.
    Submission: Agencies wishing to make an Expression of Interest 
should do so in writing by April 30, 2001, to ensure their 
consideration. Each submittal should consist of an original and three 
photocopies, and be mailed to Project Manager, Mercury Management EIS; 
DNSC-E; Defense Logistics Agency; Defense National Stockpile Center, 
8725 John J. Kingman Road, Suite 4616, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6223. 
DNSC will not consider attachments or appendices. Respondents may 
submit questions within 20 business days of this notice being 
published. Questions may be submitted by e-mail to 
[email protected] or by fax to (703) 767-5411. Responses to 
questions will be posted on the Mercury Management EIS web site at 
www.mercuryeis.com. DNSC is under no obligation to pay for any costs 
associated with the preparation or submission of Expressions of 
Interest in response to this Notice. DNSC reserves the right to respond 
or not respond to any portion, all, or none of the Expressions of 
Interest submitted in response to this Notice.

    Issued in Fort Belvoir, VA., on this 21st day of February, 2001.
Richard Connelly,
Administrator, Defense National Stockpile Center.
[FR Doc. 01-5171 Filed 3-2-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3620-01-M