DOE invites public to mercury storage environmental impact statement scoping meeting in Idaho Falls on Tuesday, August 11, 2009.

The U.S. Department of Energy issued a Notice of Intent in the July 2, 2009 Federal Register announcing that it will prepare the Long-Term Management and Storage of Elemental Mercury Environmental Impact Statement (Mercury Storage EIS). This EIS will help identify a facility or facilities for storage of elemental mercury, as required by the Mercury Export Ban Act of 2008.

WHAT: Public meeting to provide information and gather comments on the scope of what the DOE should consider in its upcoming “Long-Term Management and Storage of Elemental Mercury Environmental Impact Statement”

WHERE: Shilo Inn Hotel, 780 Lindsay Boulevard, Idaho Falls

WHEN: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 5 p.m. Media availability 5:30 p.m. Public meeting

DOE is holding public scoping meetings this summer near seven sites that will be considered in the EIS: DOE Grand Junction Disposal Site, Grand Junction, CO; DOE Hanford Site, Richland, WA; DOE Idaho site, Idaho Falls, ID; DOE Kansas City Plant, Kansas City, MO; DOE Savannah River Site, Aiken, SC; Hawthorne Army Depot, Hawthorne, NV; and Waste Control Specialists, Andrews, TX.

The scoping meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a 1-hour Open House during which the public may register to give oral comments, obtain information materials, visit exhibits, and meet with subject matter experts. At 6:30 p.m. the formal part of the meeting will begin. DOE will give a presentation on the EIS and briefly address clarifying questions. After that, oral comments from the public on the scope of the EIS will be heard. All comments will be recorded. Written comments may also be submitted at the meeting.

The Mercury Storage EIS will evaluate alternative sites for long-term storage of mercury from sources in the United States, including the chlor-alkali industry, recycling and waste recovery activities, and gold mining. DOE already stores approximately 1,200 metric tons of elemental mercury at its Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a cooperating agency on the Mercury Storage EIS, estimates that between 7,500 and 10,000 metric tons of elemental mercury will be eligible for DOE storage over the next 40 years. For more information on the EIS and to submit comments, visit: www.mercurystorageeis.com.

Editorial Date August 5, 2009
By Timothy B Jackson