[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 130 (Friday, July 8, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40830-40833]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-14388]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Long-
Term Management and Storage of Elemental Mercury

AGENCY: Office of Environmental Management, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability 
of the second Draft Long-Term Management and Storage of Elemental 
Mercury Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (Draft Mercury 
Storage SEIS-II, DOE/EIS-0423-S2D) for public comment. As required by 
the Mercury Export Ban Act of 2008 and the 2016 Frank R. Lautenberg 
Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (all together referred to as 
MEBA), DOE proposes to identify an existing facility or facilities for 
the long-term management and storage of elemental mercury generated 
within the United States. To this end, DOE issued the Final 
Environmental Impact Statement for the Long-Term Management and Storage 
of Elemental Mercury (Mercury Storage EIS, DOE/EIS-0423, January 2011) 
and the first Final Long-Term Management and Storage of Elemental 
Mercury Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (Mercury Storage 
SEIS, DOE/EIS-0423-S1, September 2013), which analyzed reasonable 
alternatives, in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA), for locating and developing such a facility. On May 24, 2021, 
DOE announced its intent to prepare a second supplement to the Mercury 
Storage EIS to update these previous analyses of potential 
environmental impacts and analyze additional alternatives, in 
accordance with NEPA.

DATES: DOE invites public comment on this Draft Mercury Storage SEIS-II 
during a 45-day public comment period, which commences with the 
publication of this Notice in the Federal Register and continues until 
August 22, 2022. In preparing the Final Mercury Storage SEIS-II, DOE 
will consider all comments received by that date. Comments received 
after that date will be considered to the extent practicable. DOE will 
hold two web-based public hearings via Zoom. The hearings will cover 
the same material. The first hearing will be held on August 2, 2022, 
from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. EDT. The second hearing will be held on 
August 4, 2022, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EDT. See Section V, 
``Public Participation,'' for further information on the public comment 
process and the web-based hearings.

ADDRESSES: Additional information regarding the SEIS-II, the 2011 
Mercury Storage EIS, 2013 Mercury Storage SEIS,

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and other related documents is available online at: https://www.energy.gov/nepa/doeeis-0423-s2-supplemental-environmental-impact-statement-long-term-management-and-storage. Please direct written 
comments or questions on the Draft Mercury Storage SEIS-II using one of 
the following methods:
     Zoom Hearing Room (during the scheduled dates); details 
regarding the web-based public hearing are provided in Section V, 
``Public Participation:'' https://em-doe.zoomgov.com/j/1608025687?pwd=Zndsbkp6THA4V2lFdXE3ZGExclF6Zz09 (copy and paste into 
web browser).
     Email: [email protected]. Please submit 
comments as an email message or email attachment (i.e., Microsoft Word 
or PDF file format) without encryption.
     Postal mail: Please submit comments by U.S. Mail to Ms. 
Julia Donkin, NEPA Document Manager, Office of Environmental 
Management, U.S. Department of Energy, EM-4.22, 1000 Independence 
Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585.
    The Draft Mercury Storage SEIS-II is available at: https://www.energy.gov/nepa/doeeis-0423-s2-supplemental-environmental-impact-statement-long-term-management-and-storage.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions concerning the Draft Mercury 
Storage SEIS-II or the public hearing can be sent to Ms. Julia Donkin, 
NEPA Document Manager, Office of Environmental Management, U.S. 
Department of Energy, EM-4.22, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 
DC 20585, (202) 586-5000, or to [email protected]. Direct 
questions specific to DOE's elemental mercury program to Mr. David 
Haught, Mercury Program Manager, Office of Environmental Management, 
U.S. Department of Energy, EM-4.22, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, 
Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-5000, or to [email protected].
    For general information concerning the DOE Office of Environmental 
Management NEPA process, please contact Mr. William Ostrum, Office of 
Environmental Management NEPA Compliance Officer, U.S. Department of 
Energy, EM-4.31, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585, 
(202) 586-2513, or to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Mercury Export Ban Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-414) and the 2016 
Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Pub. L. 
114-182) (all together referred to as MEBA), amended the Toxic 
Substances Control Act (TSCA; 15 U.S.C. 2601-2629) and the Resource 
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA; 42 U.S.C. 6939f) to address, among 
other things, the export and long-term management and storage of 
elemental mercury. MEBA prohibits the sale, distribution, or transfer 
by Federal agencies to any other Federal agency, any state or local 
government agency, or any private individual or entity, of any 
elemental mercury under the control or jurisdiction of a Federal agency 
(with certain limited exceptions). MEBA also amended section 266(c) of 
TSCA to prohibit the export of elemental mercury from the United States 
(with certain limited exceptions). MEBA directs DOE to designate a 
facility (or facilities) of DOE for the long-term management and 
storage of elemental mercury generated within the United States. MEBA 
further provides the Secretary of Energy with the authority to 
establish such terms, conditions, and procedures as are necessary to 
carry out this long-term management and storage function. Although the 
phrase ``facility (or facilities) of [DOE]'' is not defined in MEBA, 
DOE has a longstanding practice in various other contexts of leasing 
facilities to accomplish the Department's core mission. Consistent with 
that practice, DOE construes the term ``facility of DOE'' to include a 
facility leased from a commercial entity or by another Federal agency 
over which the Department provides an appropriate level of oversight 
and guidance. Accordingly, if DOE were to designate a facility that 
currently is owned by a commercial entity or by another Federal agency, 
DOE would obtain an appropriate leasehold interest in that facility to 
comply with MEBA. DOE would ensure that any such facility currently 
owned by a commercial entity or by another Federal agency would afford 
DOE an appropriate level of responsibility and control over the 
facility.
    The primary sources of elemental mercury in the United States 
include mercury generated as a byproduct of the gold-mining process and 
mercury reclaimed from recycling and waste recovery activities. In 
addition, DOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) stores 
approximately 1,200 metric tons of elemental mercury at the Oak Ridge 
Reservation in Tennessee, which was generated in support of NNSA's 
mission.
    The 2011 Mercury Storage EIS evaluated seven candidate locations 
for the elemental mercury storage facility, as well as a No-Action 
Alternative. The locations included new facility construction, use of 
existing facilities, or both. The candidate locations evaluated in 2011 
were: DOE Grand Junction Disposal site near Grand Junction, Colorado 
(new construction); DOE Hanford Site near Richland, Washington (new 
construction); Hawthorne Army Depot near Hawthorne, Nevada (existing 
facilities); DOE Idaho National Laboratory near Idaho Falls, Idaho (new 
construction and an existing facility); Kansas City Plant in Kansas 
City, Missouri (existing facility); DOE Savannah River Site near Aiken, 
South Carolina (new construction); and the Waste Control Specialists 
LLC (WCS) site near Andrews, Texas (new construction and an existing 
facility).
    The 2013 Mercury Storage SEIS evaluated three additional 
alternative locations, all in the vicinity of the Waste Isolation Pilot 
Plant near Carlsbad, New Mexico (all new construction). The 2013 
Mercury Storage SEIS also updated some of the relevant analyses for 
alternatives presented in the 2011 Mercury Storage EIS.
    For the 2011 Mercury Storage EIS and the 2013 Mercury Storage SEIS, 
DOE estimated that up to approximately 10,000 metric tons of elemental 
mercury would need to be managed and stored at the DOE facility during 
the 40-year period of analysis.
    On December 6, 2019, DOE issued a Record of Decision (ROD) to 
document its designation of the WCS site near Andrews, Texas, for the 
management and storage of up to 6,800 metric tons of elemental mercury 
in leased portions of existing buildings at the WCS site (84 FR 66890). 
The ROD was supported by DOE's Supplement Analysis of the Final Long-
Term Management and Storage of Elemental Mercury Environmental Impact 
Statement (DOE/EIS-0423-SA-1), which determined that the long-term 
management and storage of up to 6,800 metric tons of elemental mercury 
in existing buildings at the WCS site would not constitute a 
substantial change from the proposal evaluated in the 2011 Mercury 
Storage EIS and updated in the 2013 Mercury Storage SEIS. On December 
23, 2019, DOE published its rule to establish the fee for long-term 
management and storage of elemental mercury (84 FR 70402; the ``Fee 
Rule'').
    Two domestic generators of elemental mercury subsequently filed 
complaints in United States District Court challenging, among other 
things, the validity of the Fee Rule and the ROD (Coeur Rochester, Inc. 
v. Brouillette et al., Case No. 1:19-cv-03860-RJL [D.D.C. filed 
December 31, 2019] and Nevada Gold Mines LLC v. Brouillette et al., 
Case

[[Page 40832]]

No. 1:20-cv-00141-RJL [D.D.C filed January 17, 2020]). On August 21, 
2020, DOE and Nevada Gold Mines LLC executed a settlement agreement 
that resolved Nevada Gold Mines' lawsuit. Consistent with that 
agreement, on September 3, 2020, DOE filed a motion in the District 
Court asking the Court to vacate and remand the Fee Rule. The District 
Court granted the motion to vacate and remand the Fee Rule on September 
5, 2020. Given the rulemaking process required to establish a fee for 
the long-term management and storage of elemental mercury, and the 
expiration of DOE's lease with WCS in June 2021, DOE also agreed in the 
settlement with Nevada Gold Mines to withdraw the designation of WCS. 
DOE subsequently withdrew the designation of WCS under MEBA in an 
amended ROD on October 6, 2020 (85 FR 63105). On April 25, 2021, the 
District Court signed a joint stipulation to dismiss Coeur Rochester, 
Inc.'s lawsuit.

II. Purpose and Need for Action

    MEBA established January 1, 2019, as the date by which a DOE 
facility for the long-term management and storage of elemental mercury 
generated within the United States must be operational. MEBA requires 
that DOE adjust fees for generators temporarily accumulating elemental 
mercury if the DOE facility is not operational by January 1, 2019. If 
the DOE facility is not operational by January 1, 2020, DOE must: (1) 
immediately accept the conveyance of title to all elemental mercury 
that has accumulated on site prior to January 1, 2020,\1\ (2) pay any 
applicable Federal permitting costs, and (3) store, or pay the cost of 
storage of, until the time at which a facility is operational, 
accumulated mercury to which the Secretary has title in a facility that 
has been issued a permit. Because statutory milestone dates have now 
passed, DOE needs to designate a facility and begin accepting elemental 
mercury as soon as practicable.
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    \1\ Conveyance of title pertains to mercury accumulated in 
accordance with 42 U.S.C. 6939f(g)(2)(D).
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III. Proposed Action

    DOE proposes to designate one or more facilities for the long-term 
management and storage of elemental mercury in accordance with MEBA. 
Facilities must comply with applicable requirements of section 5(d) in 
MEBA, ``Management Standards for a Facility,'' including the 
requirements of the Solid Waste Disposal Act as amended by RCRA, and 
other state-specific permitting requirements. Consistent with the 
Supplement Analysis prepared in 2019 but updated to account for 
accumulation of elemental mercury since then, the SEIS-II evaluates the 
potential environmental impacts of an estimated inventory of up to 
7,000 metric tons of elemental mercury that could require management 
and storage during the 40-year period of analysis.
    After completion of DOE's Proposed Action, DOE would establish the 
fee for long-term management and storage of elemental mercury through a 
rulemaking conducted pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (5 
U.S.C. 551 et seq.). DOE would evaluate the potential environmental 
impacts of the rulemaking in accordance with NEPA implementing 
procedures at 10 CFR part 1021 at that time.

IV. Proposed Alternatives

    The Mercury Storage SEIS-II evaluates the potential environmental 
impacts associated with implementation of the Proposed Action in 
existing facilities at the following reasonable alternative locations:
     Hawthorne Army Depot in Hawthorne, Nevada;
     WCS in Andrews County, Texas;
     Bethlehem Apparatus in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania;
     Perma-Fix Diversified Scientific Services, Inc., in 
Kingston, Tennessee;
     Veolia North America in Gum Springs, Arkansas; and
     Clean Harbors (facilities in Pecatonica, Illinois; 
Greenbrier, Tennessee; and Tooele, Utah).
    DOE has also updated the analysis of the No-Action Alternative.
    For each of the above alternative locations, the Mercury Storage 
SEIS-II provides an evaluation of the potential environmental impacts 
for the following resource areas: land use and ownership, and visual 
resources; geology, soils, and geologic hazards; water resources; air 
quality and noise; ecological resources; cultural and paleontological 
resources; site infrastructure; waste management; occupational and 
public health and safety (including normal operations, facility 
accidents, transportation, and intentional destructive acts); 
socioeconomics; and environmental justice. The SEIS-II also includes a 
description of reasonably foreseeable environmental trends and planned 
actions within the region of influence for each alternative site. The 
SEIS-II evaluates the potential cumulative impacts of actions that have 
a reasonably close causal relationship or that occur at the same time 
and place as the Proposed Action.
    In the 2011 Mercury Storage EIS and the 2013 Mercury Storage SEIS, 
DOE identified the WCS alternative as the preferred alternative. DOE no 
longer has a specific preferred alternative. However, DOE does prefer 
one or more of the alternative locations with existing commercial 
facilities because selection of one or more of these facilities would 
best address DOE's schedule urgency established by MEBA.

V. Public Participation in the NEPA Process

    DOE has published the Draft Mercury Storage SEIS-II on the internet 
at: https://www.energy.gov/nepa/doeeis-0423-s2-supplemental-environmental-impact-statement-long-term-management-and-storage. 
Additionally, DOE has scheduled two web-based public hearings to allow 
DOE to present information about the Draft SEIS-II and to receive oral 
comments from the public. The first hearing will be held on August 2, 
2022, from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. EDT. The second hearing will be held 
on August 4, 2022, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EDT. Registration 
details are included below and are also available on the DOE website 
for long-term management and storage of elemental mercury (https://www.energy.gov/em/long-term-management-and-storage-elemental-mercury). 
If you are joining the web-based public hearing via the internet (the 
preferred approach), use the link below to log in to the Zoom Meeting 
Room. If you are joining the web-based public hearing via phone, dial 
the number below and follow the prompts. Documents and the presentation 
for the public hearing will be made available on the DOE website for 
long-term management and storage of elemental mercury (https://www.energy.gov/em/long-term-management-and-storage-elemental-mercury). 
Persons who wish to provide oral comments at the hearing may sign up 
either before the hearing by submitting a request to 
[email protected] (preferred approach) or during the meeting. To 
join the first web-based public hearing (August 2, 2022) via Zoom 
Meeting Room: https://em-doe.zoomgov.com/j/1608025687?pwd=Zndsbkp6THA4V2lFdXE3ZGExclF6Zz09 (copy and paste into 
web browser).
    To join the second web-based public hearing (August 4, 2022) via 
Zoom Meeting Room: https://em-doe.zoomgov.com/j/1608025687?pwd=Zndsbkp6THA4V2lFdXE3ZGExclF6Zz09 (copy and paste into 
web browser).

Signing Authority

    This document of the U.S. Department of Energy was signed on

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June 27, 2022, by William I. White, Senior Advisor for Environmental 
Management, pursuant to delegated authority from the Secretary of 
Energy. That document with the original signature and date is 
maintained by DOE. For administrative purposes only, and in compliance 
with the requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the 
undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to 
sign and submit the document in electronic format for publication, as 
an official document of the U.S. Department of Energy. This 
administrative process in no way alters the legal effect of this 
document upon publication in the Federal Register.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on June 30, 2022.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2022-14388 Filed 7-7-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P