[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 19 (Friday, January 28, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5145-5147]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-1892]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Notice of Availability of the Final Long-Term Management and 
Storage of Elemental Mercury Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of 
the Final Long-Term Management and Storage of Elemental Mercury 
Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/

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EIS-0423, ``Mercury Storage FEIS'' or ``FEIS''). This FEIS, prepared in 
accordance with the implementing regulations under the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 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 at each of seven 
alternative sites across the U.S. The FEIS also addresses comments 
received during the public comment period on the Draft EIS. The U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Texas Commission on 
Environmental Quality (TCEQ), and the Mesa County, Colorado, Board of 
Commissioners are cooperating agencies on this FEIS.

DATES: DOE will issue a Record of Decision pursuant to the Mercury 
Storage FEIS no sooner than 30 days after publication of EPA's notice 
of its availability in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Questions and requests for printed or CD copies of the 
Summary or full FEIS may be directed to: Mr. David Levenstein, EIS 
Document Manager, Office of Environmental Compliance, EM-41, U.S. 
Department of Energy, Germantown, Maryland 20874.
    The FEIS is available on the Department's NEPA Web site at http://www.nepa.energy.gov. Printed copies are also available at the public 
reading rooms identified under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Further information related to the EIS 
can be obtained by contacting Mr. Levenstein at the address listed 
above. Further information about DOE's NEPA process is available on the 
NEPA Web site at http://www.nepa.energy.gov or by contacting: 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 of 2008 (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 or new facilities for this purpose. Existing 
facilities may need to be modified. All facilities, whether newly 
constructed or existing, 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 following the 
NEPA process to identify candidate sites for the facility(ies). EPA, 
TCEQ, 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.
    Based on a structured process described in the Draft EIS issued in 
January 2010, as well as the FEIS, 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 and FEIS also analyzed a 
No Action Alternative.
    DOE's evaluation includes the facilities and their locations, along 
with any construction, facility operations, and transportation to the 
storage facility(ies). Consideration of potential locations 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, site as its preferred alternative.
    DOE held a public comment period on the Draft EIS that extended 
from January 29 through March 30, 2010, and held nine public hearings 
during this period near the sites analyzed in the Draft EIS. DOE 
considered all public comments received, including late comments. The 
FEIS contains DOE's responses.

Public Reading Rooms

    Printed copies of the Mercury Storage 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.

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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.

    Issued in Washington, DC on January 24, 2011.
In[eacute]s R. Triay,
Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management.
[FR Doc. 2011-1892 Filed 1-27-11; 8:45 am]
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