[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 19 (Friday, January 29, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4801-4802]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-1826]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Notice of Availability of the Draft Long-Term Management and 
Storage of Elemental Mercury Environmental Impact Statement and Notice 
of Public Hearings

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of 
the Draft Long-Term Management and Storage of Elemental Mercury 
Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/EIS-0423D, ``Draft Mercury Storage 
EIS'' or ``Draft EIS'') for public review and comment during a public 
comment period that extends through March 30, 2010. This Draft EIS has 
been prepared in accordance with the implementing regulations under the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and evaluates the potential 
health and environmental effects of storing a projected total of up to 
10,000 metric tons (11,000 tons) of elemental mercury. Seven 
alternative sites across the U.S. are evaluated. DOE invites the public 
to comment through the several avenues listed under ADDRESSES and 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) and the Mesa County (Colorado) Board of Commissioners are 
cooperating agencies on this Draft EIS.

DATES: The public is invited to submit oral and/or written comments on 
this Draft EIS during the public comment period, which extends through 
March 30, 2010. DOE will consider all comments received or postmarked 
by that date in preparing the Final EIS, expected in fall 2010, and 
will consider late comments to the extent practicable. DOE will hold 
public hearings on the dates and at the times and locations listed 
under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the Draft Mercury Storage EIS may be 
submitted by U.S. mail to the following address. Mr. David Levenstein, 
EIS Document Manager, U.S. Department of Energy, Draft Mercury Storage 
EIS Comments, P.O. Box 2612, Germantown, Maryland 20874.
    Comments may be submitted electronically via the Mercury Storage 
EIS Web site at http://www.mercurystorageeis.com, where the Draft EIS 
can be found, or by faxing toll-free to (877) 274-5462. The Draft EIS 
is also available on DOE's NEPA Web site at http://www.gc.energy.gov/nepa.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about this 
Draft EIS, please contact Mr. Levenstein at the mailing address or EIS 
Web site listed above.
    For information regarding the DOE NEPA process, please contact: Ms. 
Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance (GC-
54), U. S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., 
Washington, DC 20585, Telephone: (202) 586-4600, or leave a message at 
(800) 472-2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Mercury Export Ban Act (the Act) 
prohibits the export of elemental mercury from the U.S., effective 
January 1, 2013 (subject to certain essential use exemptions). Section 
5 of the Act, Long-Term Storage, directs DOE to designate a facility or 
facilities for the long-term management and storage of elemental 
mercury generated within the U.S. and, by January 1, 2013, to have the 
facility or facilities operational and ready to accept custody of such 
elemental mercury delivered there.
    DOE thus needs to develop a capability for the safe and secure 
long-term management and storage of elemental mercury generated within 
the U.S. as required by the Act. To this end, DOE proposes to select 
one or more existing (including modifications if needed) or new 
facilities for this purpose. Facilities to be constructed as well as 
existing or modified facilities must comply with applicable 
requirements of Section 5(d) of the Act, Management Standards for a 
Facility, including the requirements of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, 
as amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). DOE is 
using the NEPA process to identify and evaluate candidate sites for the 
facility or facilities. EPA and the Mesa County (Colorado) Board of 
Commissioners are cooperating agencies on the EIS, which has been 
prepared pursuant to Council on Environmental Quality NEPA implementing 
regulations at 40 CFR Parts 1500-1508 and DOE NEPA Implementing 
Procedures at 10 CFR Part 1021.
    DOE issued a Notice of Intent to prepare the EIS on July 2, 2009 
(74 FR 31723). Comments received during the subsequent scoping period 
were considered in preparing the Draft EIS. Based on a structured 
process described in the Draft EIS, DOE identified seven government and 
commercial sites as the range of reasonable alternatives to be 
evaluated in the EIS: DOE Grand Junction Disposal Site, Grand Junction, 
Colorado; DOE Hanford Site, Richland, Washington; Hawthorne Army Depot, 
Hawthorne, Nevada; DOE Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, Idaho; 
DOE Kansas City Plant, Kansas City, Missouri; DOE Savannah River Site, 
Aiken, South Carolina; and Waste Control Specialists, LLC, Andrews, 
Texas. As required under NEPA, the Draft EIS also analyzes a No Action 
Alternative to serve as a basis for comparison.
    DOE's evaluation includes the facilities themselves and their 
locations, their construction, facility operations, and transportation 
to the storage facility(ies). Consideration of potential location 
includes climate, proximity of human populations, and environmental 
resource areas for each alternative, along with the potential human 
health and socioeconomic impacts. DOE has identified the Waste Control 
Specialists, LLC facility as its preferred alternative.

[[Page 4802]]

Public Hearings

    DOE invites the public to present oral and/or written comments 
during public hearings on the Draft Mercury Storage EIS. Participants 
may register at the door to provide oral comments, and speakers will be 
recognized in order as registered. Speakers may be asked to limit their 
oral comments to five minutes. Speakers may be given an opportunity to 
take the floor a second time after all those who wish to speak have 
been given an opportunity to do so.
    During the first hour, the public may review information materials 
and speak informally with technical staff and DOE representatives. This 
will be followed by the formal hearing, which will be opened with a 
brief DOE presentation about the Draft EIS and a review of the hearing 
procedure. A court reporter will record all oral comments, which later 
will be publicly available. The dates, times and locations of all 
hearings are as follows:
Two Rivers Convention Center,
159 Main Street,
Grand Junction, CO 81501,
February 23,
5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

El Capitan,
540 F Street,
Hawthorne, NV 89415,
February 23,
5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

Shilo Inn/O'Callahan's Convention Center,
780 Lindsay Blvd,
Idaho Falls, ID 83402,
February 25,
5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

Courtyard by Marriott,
500 East 105th Street,
Kansas City, MO 64131,
March 2,
5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

Doubletree Hotel Portland--Lloyd Center,
1000 NE Multnomah Street,
Portland, OR 97232, March 2,
5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

Red Lion Hotel Richland Hanford House,
802 George Washington Way,
Richland, WA 99352,
March 3,
5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

North Augusta Municipal Center,
100 Georgia Avenue,
North Augusta, SC 29841,
March 4,
5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

Eunice Community Center
1115 Avenue I
Eunice, NM 88231
March 8
5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

James Roberts Civic Center,
855 E. Broadway,
Andrews, TX 79714,
March 9,
5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

Public Reading Rooms

    Copies of the Draft EIS and supporting technical reports are 
available for public review at the locations listed below:

Colorado

Mesa County Library,
530 Grand Avenue,
Grand Junction, CO 81502-5019,
(970) 243-4442.

U.S. Department of Energy,
Office of Legacy Management,
2597 B \3/4\ Road,
Grand Junction, CO 81503,
(970) 248-6089.

District of Columbia

U.S. Department of Energy,
Freedom of Information Act Public Reading Room,
1000 Independence Avenue, SW.,
Room 1G-033,
Washington, DC 20585,
(202) 586-5955.

Georgia

Augusta State University,
Reese Library,
2500 Walton Way,
Augusta, GA 30904,
(706) 737-1745.

Savannah State University,
Asa H. Gordon Library,
2200 Tompkins Road,
Savannah, GA 31404,
(912) 356-2183.

Idaho

U.S. Department of Energy,
Public Reading Room,
1776 Science Center Drive,
Idaho Falls, ID 83402,
(208) 526-0833.

Missouri

Mid-Continent Public Library,
Blue Ridge Branch,
9253 Blue Ridge Boulevard,
Kansas City, MO 64138,
(816) 761-3382.

Nevada

Mineral County Library,
First & ``A'' Street,
Hawthorne, NV 89415,
(775) 945-2778.

New Mexico

Eunice Public Library,
1039 10th Street,
Eunice, NM 88231,
(575) 394-2336.

Oregon

Portland State University,
Government Information,
Branford Price Millar Library,
1875 SW Park Avenue,
Portland, OR 97201,
(503) 725-5874.

South Carolina

University of South Carolina-Aiken,
Gregg-Graniteville Library,
471 University Parkway,
Aiken, SC 29801,
(803) 641-3320.

South Carolina State Library,
1500 Senate Street,
Columbia, SC 29211,
(803) 734-8026.

Texas

Andrews County Library,
109 NW 1st Street,
Andrews, TX 79714,
(432) 523-9819.

Washington

U.S. Department of Energy,
Public Reading Room,
Consolidated Information Center,
2770 University Drive,
Room 101L,
Richland, WA 99352,
(509) 372-7443.

University of Washington,
Suzzallo-Allen Library,
Government Publications Division,
Seattle, WA 98195,
(206) 543-1937.

Gonzaga University,
Foley Center Library,
101-L East 502 Boone,
Spokane, WA 99258,
(509) 313-5931.

Next Steps

    Following the end of the public comment period on the Draft EIS 
described above, DOE will consider the environmental impact analysis 
presented in the Final EIS, along with other information in making its 
decision(s) related to the management and storage of elemental mercury 
generated within the U.S.

    Issued in Washington, DC on January 25, 2010.
William M. Levitan,
Director, Office of Environmental Compliance, Office of Environmental 
Management.
[FR Doc. 2010-1826 Filed 1-28-10; 8:45 am]
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