DOE Issues Final Rule on Fee for Long-term Management and Storage of Elemental Mercury

Washington, D.C. -- The Mercury Export Ban Act (MEBA), as amended, assigned the Department of Energy (DOE) the responsibility for the long-term management and storage of elemental mercury. DOE has undertaken efforts to establish a facility for long-term management and storage of elemental mercury.

With respect to the facility, a DOE Record of Decision published in the Federal Register on December 6, 2019, designated Waste Control Specialists, LLC in Andrews County, Texas (WCS), as a DOE facility for the long-term management and storage of elemental mercury. DOE has entered into a lease and services agreement with WCS for management and storage of elemental mercury delivered to the facility. WCS and DOE submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality an application for a modification to the WCS storage permit, and the permit modification was approved on December 27, 2019.

On December 23, 2019, the final rule on the fee for the long-term management and storage of elemental mercury was published in the Federal Register. A copy of the Federal Register Notice is available at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019-12-23/pdf/2019-27672.pdf (Pages 70402-70410 [FR DOC# 2019-27672]).

Entities wishing to deliver elemental mercury to the DOE-designated facility for long-term management and storage should contact Matt LaBarge, Vice President – Federal Programs, Waste Control Specialists LLC, The Summit at Preston Trails, 17101 Preston Road; Suite 115, Dallas, TX 75248: Office 270-558-4075 Cell 214-918-8797; Email: [email protected]; website:www.wcstexas.com.