Legislation advanced out of the House Appropriations Committee on Monday sets the stage for the Department of Energy to proceed with its plan for long-term storage of elemental mercury at a privately owned facility in Texas.
The 2021 energy and water appropriations bill includes language saying DOE can start accepting fees from businesses, such as gold and silver mines, that generate elemental or metallic mercury as part of their operations. The money collected will finance long-term storage at existing Waste Control Specialists facilities in Andrews County, Texas.
The House panel’s budget plan envisions DOE taking in $3 million in receipts in fiscal 2021, which would be used to pay Waste Control Specialists. In December, the Energy Department reached a lease and services agreement with the Dallas-based company for management and long-term storage of mercury. Under a DOE record of decision issued that month, the waste complex can receive up to 6,800 metric tons (7,480 tons) of mercury.
The Mercury Export Ban Act of 2008 placed DOE in charge of domestic management and long-term storage of mercury waste. The Energy Department budget for fiscal 2020, which ends Sept. 30, provides $1.2 million for establishing the process for management and storage of the mercury.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has authorized a change to the existing hazardous waste permit for Waste Control Specialists, clearing the way for mercury storage.
The Energy Department has over time studied both its own sites and commercial facilities for mercury storage, including the option of constructing a building on the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant property near Carlsbad, N.M.
