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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 10 (Thursday, January 16, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4728-4730]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-01034]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Request for Information Regarding Treatment and Disposal of 
Elemental Mercury

AGENCY: Office of Environmental Management, U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION: Request for information (RFI).

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Environmental Management 
Consolidated Business Center and Office of Environmental Management are 
currently in the acquisition planning and regulatory planning stages 
for a potential future treatment and disposal (T&D) acquisition 
activity and fee rulemaking activities for elemental mercury waste. 
This planning supports DOE's efforts to implement the requirements of 
the Mercury Export Ban Act of 2008, as amended by the Frank R. 
Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act. DOE's Office of 
Environmental Management is issuing this RFI for the purpose of 
conducting market research in accordance with the Federal Acquisition 
Regulation (FAR). This RFI is also being issued to potentially support 
a future rulemaking action that would establish a fee to provide long-
term management and storage of elemental mercury. No contract 
solicitation is available through this RFI.

DATES: Written comments and information are requested on or before 
March 3, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may submit comments via any of the 
following methods:
    Email: [email protected]. Please include ``Treatment and 
Disposal of Elemental Mercury RFI'' in the subject line, and submit 
comments in Microsoft Word, or PDF file format, and avoid the use of 
encryption.
    Postal Mail: Timothy Herald, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of 
Environmental Management, Office of Waste Disposal (EM-4.22), 1000 
Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Timothy Herald, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Office of Environmental Management, Office of Waste Disposal 
(EM-4.22), 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585, 
Telephone: (240) 243-8753, Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Purpose and Introduction

    The purpose of this RFI is to identify entities capable of 
providing (1) infrastructure, capabilities, and capacities for the 
treatment and/or disposal of elemental mercury, (2) documentation of 
permits held, or viable strategies for obtaining permits and regulatory 
approval for the T&D methods identified, and (3) physical and 
administrative methods to segregate and control the elemental mercury 
considered under this RFI separately from other hazardous wastes 
managed at the facility or facilities.
    To that end, this RFI solicits input via capability statements from 
interested parties with the specialized capabilities necessary to meet 
all, or part of, the major elements of scope for the T&D of elemental 
mercury. Within these capability statements, DOE is seeking feedback 
from contractors, small business concerns, and other interested parties 
regarding options for innovative approaches to perform the work scope 
elements of this RFI. This feedback will assist DOE with identifying 
interested and capable sources, and with advancing development of DOE's 
acquisition strategy and future rulemaking action.
    This RFI is issued as part of DOE's implementation of the 
requirements of the Mercury Export Ban Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-414), 
as amended by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st 
Century Act (Pub. L. 114-182) (collectively identified herein as MEBA). 
Within MEBA, DOE interprets ``long-term management'' to include T&D. 
Elemental mercury managed under MEBA is a hazardous waste and thus must 
be treated and disposed of in accordance with applicable statutory and 
regulatory requirements.
    DOE is aware that Land Disposal Restrictions (LDRs) described in 
the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. 6901 et 
seq.) (RCRA) at 40 CFR part 268, subpart D--Treatment Standards, do not 
currently include an approved treatment standard for non-radioactively 
contaminated elemental mercury waste that provides an LDR-compliant 
waste form acceptable for shallow land disposal. However, a treatment 
and land disposal path for non-radioactively contaminated elemental 
mercury would be available if the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
promulgated a new rulemaking (per 40 CFR 260.20) or approved a site-
specific No Migration Variance (NMV) (per 40 CFR 268.6) or a site-
specific Determination of Equivalent Treatment (DET) (per 40 CFR 
268.42(b)). Recently, DOE received information that could provide other 
potential T&D options (e.g., deep well injection) to disposition 
elemental mercury. Also, RCRA may allow for intermediary treatment 
methods that convert elemental mercury to a more stable form (e.g., 
cinnabar/mercury sulfide) suitable for longer duration storage pending 
disposal availability. DOE therefore encourages all interested parties 
to identify their T&D methods for DOE consideration.

II. Performance Work Statement

    DOE requires services for the T&D of elemental mercury conveyed to 
DOE pursuant to MEBA. DOE may initially seek T&D services for up to 120 
metric tons (MT) of elemental mercury to which DOE holds title as 
established in an August 2020 settlement agreement with Nevada Gold 
Mines, LLC (NGM), whereby DOE agreed to accept title to and all further 
responsibility for 112 MT of elemental mercury that was in temporary 
storage at certain NGM facilities as of December 31, 2019.
    DOE is considering additional contract options that could increase 
the quantity of elemental mercury T&D capacity over a 5-year contract 
period of performance. The potential need for additional T&D capacity 
is based on the expectation that additional quantities of elemental 
mercury would be conveyed to DOE, and such options would afford DOE the 
capability to disposition a much larger volume of elemental mercury 
waste. Interested parties' responses to this RFI should address their 
capabilities and capacities to treat and/or dispose of the following 
three volumes of elemental mercury waste during a base period of 
performance

[[Page 4729]]

(estimated) through a maximum 5-year period of performance (PoP):
     120 metric tons (MT) elemental mercury--base period 
proposed by responding entity.
     1,500-2,000 MT elemental mercury (includes base 120 MT)--
maximum 5-year PoP.
     2,000-3,000 MT elemental mercury (includes base 120 MT)--
maximum 5-year PoP.

III. Request for Information

    Within the context of the information contained in this RFI 
request, interested parties may provide responses to the following 
information requested below as deemed appropriate and applicable by the 
respondent, and to the extent the information is available:
    1. Describe your experience managing hazardous materials and 
hazardous waste, including elemental mercury as a material and as a 
waste. Discuss roles and responsibilities of your company and any 
contemplated teaming partners specific to the performance work 
statement (PWS) elements of this RFI.
    2. Describe your approach to meeting the PWS elements of this RFI 
in providing T&D services for elemental mercury waste. Specifically, 
discuss:
    a. The permits you hold or your regulatory status/proposed strategy 
for obtaining regulatory approval (i.e., DET, NMV, other RCRA T&D 
method, export to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development 
country, etc.) to treat and dispose of elemental mercury waste.
    b. Your expected (existing or planned) annual throughput capacity 
(i.e., metric tons of elemental mercury per year treated and disposed). 
Describe your ability to scale up processes, if required, to achieve 
T&D of (a) 1,500-2,000 MT during a 5-year PoP, or (b) 2,500-3,000 MT 
during a 5-year PoP.
    c. For the existing (or planned) capacity identified in 2(b) above, 
describe the proposed facilities and processes and whether new 
construction or modifications would be required to treat and dispose of 
the requested quantities.
    d. Capabilities to safely manage compromised (e.g., leaking, 
damaged) containers of elemental mercury, including the ability to open 
containers for transfer to new containers, as well as interim products 
(e.g., cinnabar).
    e. Capabilities to process off-specification waste forms to allow 
disposal.
    f. Management and disposition of secondary wastes generated during 
processing or handling.
    g. Disposal facility receipt, handling, staging, and emplacement of 
the equivalent of the masses of elemental mercury identified above, 
accounting for volume increase due to treatment to produce an 
acceptable waste form for disposal.
    h. Capabilities to monitor the performance of disposal (e.g., 
monitoring wells, leachate collection and treatment, etc.) in 
accordance with regulatory requirements to identify and mitigate 
potential leak/release paths.
    3. Identify any challenges and risks in meeting the PWS elements of 
this RFI in providing T&D service for elemental mercury waste and any 
actions your organization would take to address those challenges and 
risks.
    4. Describe your approach to managing the infrastructure at the 
planned facility or facilities to provide segregation and control 
processes (e.g., administrative, procedural, and physical) of DOE MEBA 
elemental mercury through all activities, including transportation, 
handling, treatment, and disposal.
    5. Discuss your experience in implementation of environmental, 
safety, and health plans related to your (and any teaming partner's) 
work, including any prior relevant experience with work on or with DOE 
facilities, and your approach to addressing the requirements under 10 
CFR part 851, Worker Safety and Health Program, as applicable.
    6. Provide a brief Experience and Performance Record (within the 
past 15 years). Identify all DOE, other Government, or other commercial 
experience relevant to this RFI (include dollar value, contract type, 
role in the effort [i.e., prime contractor or subcontractor] date, 
scope, duration, and client).
    7. DOE may require a leasehold interest in the real property or 
properties offering T&D services. Discuss any impacts this may have to 
your ability to respond to a request for proposal. Discuss any relevant 
experience with leasehold arrangements.
    8. Highlight any factors that would make competing for this 
contract desirable or undesirable for your firm, including input on 
proposal evaluation criteria. Discuss any issues that DOE should 
consider when developing the solicitation for this proposal. Identify 
any Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCI) concerns and/or 
potential OCI's that you or your teaming partners may have pertaining 
to the work described in this RFI. Additionally, please identify and 
describe any areas in the major elements of scope believed to be 
missing or in need of clarification.
    Any additional information that would assist in the evaluation of 
the RFI.

IV. Response Guidelines

    All interested parties are invited to submit a capability 
statement/response to this RFI. Responses to the RFI must be in writing 
and submitted no later than March 3, 2025 via one of the methods 
provided in the ADDRESSES section. Electronic responses are preferred 
and can be provided as an attachment to an email. Please provide 
submittals as Microsoft Word (.docx), or PDF files. Respondents may use 
formatting that best presents the information, but submittals of 15 
pages or less are requested. Respondents may answer as many or as few 
topics as they wish. A response to this RFI will not be viewed as a 
binding commitment to develop or pursue projects, ideas, or proposals 
discussed.
    This RFI is solely a request for information and is not a request 
for quote or proposal. DOE will not pay for any information that is 
provided in response to this announcement, nor will it compensate any 
respondents for the development of such information. DOE may contact 
firms responding to this announcement to clarify a respondent's 
responses or capabilities and other matters as part of this regulatory 
research process.
    DOE reserves the right to use any, and all, information submitted 
by the responding party in any manner. DOE intends to utilize the 
information provided in response to this RFI to inform potential future 
T&D acquisition activity and fee rulemaking planning activities. 
Respondents are advised to avoid including any information that might 
be considered business confidential and/or proprietary information 
(CBI), if possible, in their submission. DOE will endeavor to protect 
such information to the extent legally permissible. If required to do 
so as part of the regulatory process, DOE would try to make the 
information available to the public in a manner that is not directly 
attributable to the responding party.

Confidential Business Information

    Pursuant to 10 CFR 1004.11, any person submitting information that 
he or she believes to be confidential and exempt by law from public 
disclosure should submit via email two well-marked copies: one copy of 
the document marked ``confidential'' including all the information 
believed to be confidential, and one copy of the document marked ``non-
confidential'' with the information believed to be

[[Page 4730]]

confidential deleted. DOE will make its own determination about the 
confidential status of the information and treat it according to its 
determination.

Signing Authority

    This document of the Department of Energy was signed on January 8, 
2025, by Candice Trummell, Senior Advisor for Environmental Management, 
pursuant to delegated authority from the Secretary of Energy. The 
document with the original signature and date is maintained by DOE. For 
administrative purposes only, and in compliance with 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 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 January 13, 2025.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2025-01034 Filed 1-15-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
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