IB 

Union Calendar No. 275 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1534 

[Report No. 110–444] 

To prohibit the sale, distribution, or transfer of mercury, to prohibit the 

export of mercury, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 15, 2007 

Mr. ALLEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Energy and Commerce 

NOVEMBER 13, 2007 

Additional sponsors: Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. FARR, Mr. WYNN, Mr. ELLISON, Mrs. 

CAPPS, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. KUCINICH, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. 

BUTTERFIELD, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. HODES, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. MCCOLLUM

of Minnesota, and Ms. ESHOO

NOVEMBER 13, 2007 

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 

on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 15, 2007] 

A BILL 

To prohibit the sale, distribution, or transfer of mercury, 

to prohibit the export of mercury, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mercury Export Ban 

3 Act of 2007’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds that— 

6 (1) mercury is highly toxic to humans, eco7 systems, and wildlife; 

8 (2) as many as 10 percent of women in the 

9 United States of childbearing age have mercury in the 

10 blood at a level that could put a baby at risk; 

11 (3) as many as 630,000 children born annually 

12 in the United States are at risk of neurological prob13 lems related to mercury; 

14 (4) the most significant source of mercury expo15 sure to people in the United States is ingestion of 

16 mercury-contaminated fish; 

17 (5) the Environmental Protection Agency reports 

18 that, as of 2004— 

19 (A) 44 States have fish advisories covering 

20 over 13,000,000 lake acres and over 750,000 

21 river miles; 

22 (B) in 21 States the freshwater advisories 

23 are statewide; and 

24 (C) in 12 States the coastal advisories are 

25 statewide; 


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1 (6) the long-term solution to mercury pollution 

2 is to minimize global mercury use and releases to 

3 eventually achieve reduced contamination levels in the 

4 environment, rather than reducing fish consumption 

5 since uncontaminated fish represents a critical and 

6 healthy source of nutrition worldwide; 

7 (7) mercury pollution is a transboundary pollut8 ant, depositing locally, regionally, and globally, and 

9 affecting water bodies near industrial sources (includ10 ing the Great Lakes) and remote areas (including the 

11 Arctic Circle); 

12 (8) the free trade of elemental mercury on the 

13 world market, at relatively low prices and in ready 

14 supply, encourages the continued use of elemental 

15 mercury outside of the United States, often involving 

16 highly dispersive activities such as artisinal gold 

17 mining; 

18 (9) the intentional use of mercury is declining in 

19 the United States as a consequence of process changes 

20 to manufactured products (including batteries, paints, 

21 switches, and measuring devices), but those uses re22 main substantial in the developing world where re23 leases from the products are extremely likely due to 

24 the limited pollution control and waste management 

25 infrastructures in those countries; 


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1 (10) the member countries of the European 

2 Union collectively are the largest source of elemental 

3 mercury exports globally; 

4 (11) the European Commission has proposed to 

5 the European Parliament and to the Council of the 

6 European Union a regulation to ban exports of ele7 mental mercury from the European Union by 2011; 

8 (12) the United States is a net exporter of ele9 mental mercury and, according to the United States 

10 Geological Survey, exported 506 metric tons of ele11 mental mercury more than the United States im12 ported during the period of 2000 through 2004; and 

13 (13) banning exports of elemental mercury from 

14 the United States will have a notable effect on the 

15 market availability of elemental mercury and switch16 ing to affordable mercury alternatives in the devel17 oping world. 

18 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON SALE, DISTRIBUTION, OR TRANS19 FER OF ELEMENTAL MERCURY. 

20 Section 6 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 

21 U.S.C. 2605) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(f) MERCURY.— 

23 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION ON SALE, DISTRIBUTION, OR

24 TRANSFER OF ELEMENTAL MERCURY BY FEDERAL

25 AGENCIES.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), efVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:50 Nov 14, 2007 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1534.RH H1534

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1 fective beginning on the date of enactment of this sub2 section, no Federal agency shall convey, sell, or dis3 tribute to any other Federal agency, any State or 

4 local government agency, or any private individual or 

5 entity any elemental mercury under the control or ju6 risdiction of the Federal agency. 

7 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

8 apply to a transfer between Federal agencies of ele9 mental mercury for the sole purpose of facilitating 

10 storage of mercury to carry out this Act.’’. 

11 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON EXPORT OF ELEMENTAL MER12 CURY. 

13 Section 12 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 

14 U.S.C. 2611) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘subsection (b)’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘subsections (b) and (c)’’; and 

17 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION ON EXPORT OF ELEMENTAL MER19 CURY.— 

20 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—Effective January 1, 2010, 

21 the export of elemental mercury from the United 

22 States is prohibited. 

23 ‘‘(2) INAPPLICABILITY OF SUBSECTION (a).—Sub24 section (a) shall not apply to this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(3) REPORT TO CONGRESS ON MERCURY COM2 POUNDS.— 

3 ‘‘(A) REPORT.—Not later than one year 

4 after the date of enactment of the Mercury Ex5 port Ban Act of 2007, the Administrator shall 

6 publish and submit to Congress a report on mer7 curic chloride, mercurous chloride or calomel, 

8 mercuric oxide, and other mercury compounds, if 

9 any, that may currently be used in significant 

10 quantities in products or processes. Such report 

11 shall include an analysis of— 

12 ‘‘(i) the sources and amounts of each of 

13 the mercury compounds imported into the 

14 United States or manufactured in the 

15 United States annually; 

16 ‘‘(ii) the purposes for which each of 

17 these compounds are used domestically, the 

18 amount of these compounds currently con19 sumed annually for each purpose, and the 

20 estimated amounts to be consumed for each 

21 purpose in 2010 and beyond; 

22 ‘‘(iii) the sources and amounts of each 

23 mercury compound exported from the 

24 United States annually in each of the last 

25 three years; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) the potential for these compounds 

2 to be processed into elemental mercury after 

3 export from the United States; and 

4 ‘‘(v) other relevant information that 

5 Congress should consider in determining 

6 whether to extend the export prohibition to 

7 include one or more of these mercury com8 pounds. 

9 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURE.—For the purpose of pre10 paring the report under this paragraph, the Ad11 ministrator may utilize the information gath12 ering authorities of this title, including sections 

13 10 and 11. 

14 ‘‘(4) ESSENTIAL USE EXEMPTION.—(A) Any per15 son residing in the United States may petition the 

16 Administrator for an exemption from the prohibition 

17 in paragraph (1), and the Administrator may grant 

18 by rule, after notice and opportunity for comment, an 

19 exemption for a specified use at an identified foreign 

20 facility if the Administrator finds that— 

21 ‘‘(i) nonmercury alternatives for the speci22 fied use are not available in the country where 

23 the facility is located; 

24 ‘‘(ii) there is no other source of elemental 

25 mercury available from domestic supplies (not 


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1 including new mercury mines) in the country 

2 where the elemental mercury will be used; 

3 ‘‘(iii) the country where the elemental mer4 cury will be used certifies its support for the ex5 emption; 

6 ‘‘(iv) the export will be conducted in such a 

7 manner as to ensure the elemental mercury will 

8 be used at the identified facility as described in 

9 the petition, and not otherwise diverted for other 

10 uses for any reason; 

11 ‘‘(v) the elemental mercury will be used in 

12 a manner that will protect human health and 

13 the environment, taking into account local, re14 gional, and global human health and environ15 mental impacts; 

16 ‘‘(vi) the elemental mercury will be handled 

17 and managed in a manner that will protect 

18 human health and the environment, taking into 

19 account local, regional, and global human health 

20 and environmental impacts; and 

21 ‘‘(vii) the export of elemental mercury for 

22 the specified use is consistent with international 

23 obligations of the United States intended to re24 duce global mercury supply, use, and pollution. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Each exemption issued by the Adminis2 trator pursuant to this paragraph shall contain such 

3 terms and conditions as are necessary to minimize 

4 the export of elemental mercury and ensure that the 

5 conditions for granting the exemption will be fully 

6 met, and shall contain such other terms and condi7 tions as the Administrator may prescribe. No exemp8 tion granted pursuant to this paragraph shall exceed 

9 three years in duration and no such exemption shall 

10 exceed 10 metric tons of elemental mercury. 

11 ‘‘(C) The Administrator may by order suspend 

12 or cancel an exemption under this paragraph in the 

13 case of a violation described in subparagraph (D). 

14 ‘‘(D) A violation of this subsection or the terms 

15 and conditions of an exemption, or the submission of 

16 false information in connection therewith, shall be 

17 considered a prohibited act under section 15, and 

18 shall be subject to penalties under section 16, injunc19 tive relief under section 17, and citizen suits under 

20 section 20. 

21 ‘‘(5) CONSISTENCY WITH TRADE OBLIGATIONS.— 

22 Nothing in this subsection affects, replaces, or amends 

23 prior law relating to the need for consistency with 

24 international trade obligations. 


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1 ‘‘(6) EXPORT OF COAL.—Nothing in this sub2 section shall be construed to prohibit the export of 

3 coal.’’. 

4 SEC. 5. LONG-TERM STORAGE. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—Not later than 

6 January 1, 2010, the Secretary of Energy (in this section 

7 referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall accept custody, for the 

8 purpose of long-term management and storage, of elemental 

9 mercury generated within the United States and delivered 

10 to a facility of the Department of Energy designated by the 

11 Secretary. 

12 (b) FEES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—After consultation with per14 sons who are likely to deliver elemental mercury to a 

15 designated facility for long-term management and 

16 storage under the program prescribed in subsection 

17 (a), and with other interested persons, the Secretary 

18 shall assess and collect a fee at the time of delivery 

19 for providing such management and storage, based on 

20 the pro rata cost of long-term management and stor21 age of elemental mercury delivered to the facility. The 

22 amount of such fees— 

23 (A) shall be made publically available not 

24 later than October 1, 2009; 

25 (B) may be adjusted annually; and 


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1 (C) shall be set in an amount sufficient to 

2 cover the costs described in paragraph (2). 

3 (2) COSTS.—The costs referred to in paragraph 

4 (1)(C) are the costs to the Department of Energy of 

5 providing such management and storage, including 

6 facility operation and maintenance, security, moni7 toring, reporting, personnel, administration, inspec8 tions, training, fire suppression, closure, and other 

9 costs required for compliance with applicable law. 

10 Such costs shall not include costs associated with land 

11 acquisition or permitting of a designated facility 

12 under the Solid Waste Disposal Act or other applica13 ble law. Building design and building construction 

14 costs shall only be included to the extent that the Sec15 retary finds that the management and storage of ele16 mental mercury accepted under the program under 

17 this section cannot be accomplished without construc18 tion of a new building or buildings. 

19 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the end of 

20 each Federal fiscal year, the Secretary shall transmit to the 

21 Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep22 resentatives and the Committee on Environment and Public 

23 Works of the Senate a report on all of the costs incurred 

24 in the previous fiscal year associated with the long-term 

25 management and storage of elemental mercury. Such report 


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1 shall set forth separately the costs associated with activities 

2 taken under this section. 

3 (d) MANAGEMENT STANDARDS FOR A FACILITY.— 

4 (1) GUIDANCE.—Not later than October 1, 2009, 

5 the Secretary, after consultation with the Adminis6 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency and 

7 all appropriate State agencies in affected States, shall 

8 make available, including to potential users of the 

9 long-term management and storage program estab10 lished under subsection (a), guidance that establishes 

11 procedures and standards for the receipt, manage12 ment, and long-term storage of elemental mercury at 

13 a designated facility or facilities, including require14 ments to ensure appropriate use of flasks or other 

15 suitable shipping containers. Such procedures and 

16 standards shall be protective of human health and the 

17 environment and shall ensure that the elemental mer18 cury is stored in a safe, secure, and effective manner. 

19 In addition to such procedures and standards, ele20 mental mercury managed and stored under this sec21 tion at a designated facility shall be subject to the re22 quirements of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, including 

23 the requirements of subtitle C of that Act, except as 

24 provided in subsection (g)(2) of this section. A des25 ignated facility in existence on or before January 1, 


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1 2010, is authorized to operate under interim status 

2 pursuant to section 3005(e) of the Solid Waste Dis3 posal Act until a final decision on a permit applica4 tion is made pursuant to section 3005(c) of the Solid 

5 Waste Disposal Act. Not later than January 1, 2012, 

6 the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

7 Agency (or an authorized State) shall issue a final 

8 decision on the permit application. 

9 (2) TRAINING.—The Secretary shall conduct 

10 operational training and emergency training for all 

11 staff that have responsibilities related to elemental 

12 mercury management, transfer, storage, monitoring, 

13 or response. 

14 (3) EQUIPMENT.—The Secretary shall ensure 

15 that each designated facility has all equipment nec16 essary for routine operations, emergencies, moni17 toring, checking inventory, loading, and storing ele18 mental mercury at the facility. 

19 (4) FIRE DETECTION AND SUPPRESSION SYS20 TEMS.—The Secretary shall— 

21 (A) ensure the installation of fire detection 

22 systems at each designated facility, including 

23 smoke detectors and heat detectors; and 

24 (B) ensure the installation of a permanent 

25 fire suppression system, unless the Secretary deVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:50 Nov 14, 2007 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1534.RH H1534

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1 termines that a permanent fire suppression sys2 tem is not necessary to protect human health 

3 and the environment. 

4 (e) INDEMNIFICATION OF PERSONS DELIVERING ELE5 MENTAL MERCURY.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—(A) Except as provided in 

7 subparagraph (B) and subject to paragraph (2), the 

8 Secretary shall hold harmless, defend, and indemnify 

9 in full any person who delivers elemental mercury to 

10 a designated facility under the program established 

11 under subsection (a) from and against any suit, 

12 claim, demand or action, liability, judgment, cost, or 

13 other fee arising out of any claim for personal injury 

14 or property damage (including death, illness, or loss 

15 of or damage to property or economic loss) that re16 sults from, or is in any manner predicated upon, the 

17 release or threatened release of elemental mercury as 

18 a result of acts or omissions occurring after such mer19 cury is delivered to a designated facility described in 

20 subsection (a). 

21 (B) To the extent that a person described in sub22 paragraph (A) contributed to any such release or 

23 threatened release, subparagraph (A) shall not apply. 


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1 (2) CONDITIONS.—No indemnification may be 

2 afforded under this subsection unless the person seek3 ing indemnification— 

4 (A) notifies the Secretary in writing within 

5 30 days after receiving written notice of the 

6 claim for which indemnification is sought; 

7 (B) furnishes to the Secretary copies of per8 tinent papers the person receives; 

9 (C) furnishes evidence or proof of any 

10 claim, loss, or damage covered by this subsection; 

11 and 

12 (D) provides, upon request by the Secretary, 

13 access to the records and personnel of the person 

14 for purposes of defending or settling the claim or 

15 action. 

16 (3) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY.—(A) In any 

17 case in which the Secretary determines that the De18 partment of Energy may be required to make indem19 nification payments to a person under this subsection 

20 for any suit, claim, demand or action, liability, judg21 ment, cost, or other fee arising out of any claim for 

22 personal injury or property damage referred to in 

23 paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary may settle or defend, 

24 on behalf of that person, the claim for personal injury 

25 or property damage. 


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1 (B) In any case described in subparagraph (A), 

2 if the person to whom the Department of Energy may 

3 be required to make indemnification payments does 

4 not allow the Secretary to settle or defend the claim, 

5 the person may not be afforded indemnification with 

6 respect to that claim under this subsection. 

7 (f) TERMS, CONDITIONS, AND PROCEDURES.—The Sec8 retary is authorized to establish such terms, conditions, and 

9 procedures as are necessary to carry out this section. 

10 (g) EFFECT ON OTHER LAW.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para12 graph (2), nothing in this section changes or affects 

13 any Federal, State, or local law or the obligation of 

14 any person to comply with such law. 

15 (2) EXCEPTION.—(A) Elemental mercury that 

16 the Secretary is storing on a long-term basis shall not 

17 be subject to the storage prohibition of section 3004(j) 

18 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6924(j)). 

19 For the purposes of section 3004(j) of the Solid Waste 

20 Disposal Act, a generator accumulating elemental 

21 mercury destined for a facility designated by the Sec22 retary under subsection (a) for 90 days or less shall 

23 be deemed to be accumulating the mercury to facili24 tate proper treatment, recovery, or disposal. 


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1 (B) Elemental mercury that is stored at a facil2 ity with respect to which a permit has been issued 

3 under section 3005(c) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act 

4 (42 U.S.C. 6925(c)) shall not be subject to the storage 

5 prohibition of section 3004(j) of the Solid Waste Dis6 posal Act (42 U.S.C. 6924(j)) if— 

7 (i) the Secretary is unable to accept the 

8 mercury at a facility designated by the Secretary 

9 under subsection (a) for reasons beyond the con10 trol of the owner or operator of the permitted fa11 cility; 

12 (ii) the owner or operator of the permitted 

13 facility certifies in writing to the Secretary that 

14 it will ship the mercury to the designated facility 

15 when the Secretary is able to accept the mercury; 

16 and 

17 (iii) the owner or operator of the permitted 

18 facility certifies in writing to the Secretary that 

19 it will not sell, or otherwise place into commerce, 

20 the mercury. 

21 This subparagraph shall not apply to mercury with 

22 respect to which the owner or operator of the per23 mitted facility fails to comply with a certification 

24 provided under clause (ii) or (iii). 


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1 (h) STUDY.—Not later than July 1, 2011, the Sec2 retary shall transmit to the Congress the results of a study, 

3 conducted in consultation with the Administrator of the 

4 Environmental Protection Agency, that— 

5 (1) determines the impact of the long-term stor6 age program under this section on mercury recycling; 

7 and 

8 (2) includes proposals, if necessary, to mitigate 

9 any negative impact identified under paragraph (1). 

10 SEC. 6. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

11 At least 3 years after the effective date of the prohibi12 tion on export of elemental mercury under section 12(c) of 

13 the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2611(c)), as 

14 added by section 4 of this Act, but not later than January 

15 1, 2014, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

16 Agency shall transmit to the Committee on Energy and 

17 Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Com18 mittee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate a 

19 report on the global supply and trade of elemental mercury, 

20 including but not limited to the amount of elemental mer21 cury traded globally that originates from primary mining, 

22 where such primary mining is conducted, and whether ad23 ditional primary mining has occurred as a consequence of 

24 this Act. 

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cury, to prohibit the export of elemental mercury, and for 

other purposes.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 275 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1534 

[Report No. 110

–444] 

A BILL 

To prohibit the sale, distribution, or transfer of 

for other purposes. mercury, to prohibit the export of mercury, and 

NOVEMBER 13, 2007 

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee 

dered to be printed of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and orVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:50 Nov 14, 2007 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H1534.RH H1534

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