Quicksilver Caucus

The Quicksilver Caucus was formed in May 2001 by a coalition of State environmental association leaders to collaboratively develop holistic approaches for reducing mercury in the environment. Caucus members who share mercury-related technical and policy information include the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS), the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials (ASTSWMO), the National Association of Clean Air Agencies(NACAA), the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators (ASIWPCA), the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA) and the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable (NPPR). The Quicksilver Caucus’ long-term goal is that State, Federal, and International actions result in net mercury reductions to the environment.

Mark McDermid (Wisconsin) currently serves as the Lead ECOS Representative of the Quicksilver Caucus. The Staff Liaison is Matthew C. Jones (ECOS).

The QSC is working collaboratively and in partnership in three priority areas:

• Stewardship approaches for reducing mercury in the environment and managing safe, long-term storage of elemental mercury nationally and internationally.
• Multi-media approaches for a mercury-based TMDL taking into account the contributions of the air and waste program as well as using their statutes to craft solutions.
• Approaches to decrease the global supply and demand for mercury.

Mercury Requirements under the Electric Arc Furnace Area Source Rule

Since the EPA published the Electric Arc Furnace Area Source Rule for Steelmaking Facilities in December 2007, there are new requirements related to mercury of which state and local agencies need to be aware.  To help with that, the Quicksilver Caucus has published a new document:

Electric Arc Furnace Area Source Rule Mercury Requirements Factsheet for State and Local Agencies

Current Action Plan

The Quicksilver Caucus draft 2007-08 Action Plan and Implementation Strategy as of December 2006 describes actions and activities the QSC expects to work on over the next two years.

Current and Prior Year Key Activities and Accomplishments

• 2008
  • The Quicksilver Caucus published the Dental Mercury Amalgam Waste Management White Paper to share information about state and local government programs that address dental mercury amalgam. *Please note- a limited number of hard copies of this paper were published in April 2008. Since then, a minor mistake on Page 2 of the paper was discovered and corrected. The version of this paper accessible here by hyperlink is the final corrected version of the Quicksilver Caucus Dental Mercury Amalgam Waste Management White Paper.
  • The Quicksilver Caucus published the Electric Arc Furnace Area Source Rule Mercury Requirements Factsheet for State and Local Agencies to help them with implementing requirements under the new rule.
• 2007

• The Quicksilver Caucus (QSC) published the Mercury-Added Product Work Plan (September 2007) that identifies the activities the QSC plans to pursue related to mercury-added products. 
• ECOS provided testimony on June 22, 2007 before the House Energy and Committee; Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials on the "Collection and Management of Commodity Grade Elemental Mercury".
• The Quicksilver Caucus (QSC) adopted a set of principles that addresses the collection and management of elemental commodity grade mercury. The QSC believes any national approach should be based on these principles.
• The Quicksilver Caucus Workshop was held in Madison, Wisconsin on May 4 and 5, 2007. The workshop presenters updated state and federal policy leaders through their presentations.

• 2006 - The Quicksilver Caucus pursued the following activities in 2006:
  • Stewardship Approaches
    • Published Mercury Product Labeling (March 2006) to stimulate discussion about the value and effectiveness of labeling mercury-added products as an approach for phasing out nonessential uses of mercury. The document describes activities in nine states and provides information about the value and effectiveness of state programs.
    • Published Mercury-Added Product White Paper (November 2006) that identifies five mercury containing products where State and Federal agencies could reduce mercury use through voluntary and regulatory mechanisms.
    • Actively engaged with vehicle manufacturers, steel makers, the recycling industry (e.g., dismantlers and shredders), environmental organizations and US EPA to establish the National Vehicle Mercury Switch Recovery Program (NVMSRP) Memorandum of Agreement for removing switches from vehicles.
    • Supported and endorsed the National Mercury Switch Removal Program Memorandum of Agreement in ECOS Resolution 06-7.
    • Participated in NVMSRP implementation activities with vehicle manufacturers, steel makers, the recycling industry (e.g., dismantlers and shredders), environmental organizations and US EPA.
    • Provided technical assistance to states on vehicle switch removal approaches and the NVMSRP through knowledge transfer sessions for states in January, April, November and December 2006
    • Established state-to-state exchange of information on state vehicle switch programs through WISER.
  • Long-term Safe Management
    • Re-affirmed through ECOS Resolution 06-1 Mercury Retirement and Stockpiling its opposition to U. S. mercury stockpile sales, its position that long-term storage of mercury is a federal responsibility and request for a plan to manage the long-term storage of excess mercury stocks in conformance with appropriate state and federal laws and regulations and to implement a plan by January 2008.
    • Commended the Defense Logistics Agency on continuing its suspension of sales from the Department of Defense’s mercury stockpile and for its identification of continued mercury storage as the preferable management option in the Mercury Management Environmental Impact Statement.
    • Informed the Department of Energy of its long-term and continuing opposition to the sale of U.S. Mercury Stockpiles in a December 11, 2006 Letter to Secretary Bodman.
  • Multimedia Approaches for TMDLs
    • Continued to call upon US EPA to develop a National Mercury Reduction Implementation Strategy for its Roadmap for Mercury with a goal of significant reduction of anthropogenic sources of mercury such that fish consumption advisories for mercury can be lifted within a reasonable time frame, to achieve the goals established in the federal Clean Water Act and state Water Quality Standards.
    • Re-affirmed states commitment to actively partner with USEPA in implementing a national strategy that is consistent with ECOS Resolution 03-7: Need For a National Mercury Reduction Implementation Strategy To Further Progress On Atmospheric Mercury Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs).
    • Continued to monitor states developing alternative TMDL approaches in Minnesota (submitted state-wide TMDL for Mercury to US EPA in June 2006), Massachusetts, Maine and Rhode Island submitted a Category 4 Mercury TMDL Alternative Regulatory Pathway Proposal in 2004 that was disapproved by US EPA in 2006.
• 2005 - The Quicksilver Caucus
  • Conducted a survey on State activities related to mercury. Forty-five states responded to the survey. Based on these responses, the Quicksilver Caucus and the National Wildlife Federation published the 2005 Compendium of States' Mercury Activities (October 2005). The compendium is made up of two major sections, a national overview that takes a broad look at the activities in which states are engaged, and individual state summaries that describe some of the specific activities that each state is pursuing.
  • Maintained contact with the Defense Logistics Agency to ensure future coordination with states on actions stemming from the Department of Defense’s Record of Decision for the Final Mercury Management Environmental Impact Statement.
  • Continued to monitor US EPA efforts to develop a national program for removing switches from vehicles. It also initiated a technical assistance program for states by publishing Removing Mercury Switches from Vehicles -- A Pollution Prevention Opportunity for States (August 2005) and planned a Vehicle Switch Removal Seminar for States.
• 2004 - The Quicksilver Caucus:
  • Re-affirmed their Policy Positions on Mercury by renewing three ECOS Resolutions at the ECOS Spring 2004 Meeting
    • 01-1 Need for Articulation of a National Vision for Mercury
    • 01-2 On Multi-Pollutant Strategies for the Control of Air Pollutants
    • 01-3 Mercury Retirement and Stockpiling
  • Maintained contact with the Defense Logistics Agency to ensure future coordination with states on actions stemming from the Department of Defense’s Record of Decision for the Final Mercury Management Environmental Impact Statement.
  • Developed a 2004-05 Action Plan and Implementation Strategy in August 2004. Participated in US EPA’s stakeholder meetings and teleconferences to explore options for developing a national program for removing switches from vehicles.
  • Adopted Resolution 04-07 Need for Nationwide Mercury Switch Removal Strategy That Provides Flexibility to the Statesat the ECOS Annual Meeting in October 2004
• 2001 to 2003 – State environmental association leaders formed the Quicksilver caucus formed the Quicksilver Caucus to collaboratively develop holistic approaches for reducing mercury in the environment. They also formed a partnership with U.S. EPA to jointly address two areas of mutual concern -- a national approach for addressing lakes and rivers impaired by mercury pollution and the long-term management of excess mercury in the United States. States also affirmed their opposition to future U.S. mercury stockpile sales and called for a coordinated, federal government-led effort to evaluate long-term management, retirement, and substitution options. States provided input on U.S. EPA’s future draft National Action Plan for Mercury (NAP) and supported the U.S. delegation’s participation in the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) meetings in September 2002 and February 2003. The Quicksilver Caucus sponsored the second Mercury Workshop to update state environmental commissioners and their senior managers actions to address the Mercury problem in the United States; current policies designed to deal with mercury; and the status of technologies to reduce mercury to the environment.
• 2000 -- ECOS sponsored the first Mercury Workshop for state environmental commissioners and their senior managers to educate and inform them on the Mercury problem in the United States; current policies designed to deal with mercury; and existing and emerging technologies to reduce mercury to the environment and how States are currently dealing with mercury.

Publications and Documents

• Mercury-Added Product Work Plan (September 2007)
• Mercury-Added Product White Paper (November 2006)
• Mercury Product Labeling: Information for States (March 2006)
• 2005 Compendium of States' Mercury Activities (October 2005)
• Removing Mercury Switches From Vehicles -- A Pollution Prevention Opportunity for States (August 2005)
• Mercury Stewardship -- Best Management Practices (October 2003)
• Mercury Stewardship -- Storage of Mercury (October 2003)
• Mercury Stewardship -- Best Management Practices (October 2003)
• Mercury Stewardship -- Mercury Commodity Review (October 2003)
• Mercury Stewardship -- Market Policy Options (October 2003)
• Compendium of State Mercury Activities (January 2001)
• The ECOS Mercury Workshop Report -- Volume I (October 2000)
• The ECOS Mercury Workshop Report -- Volume II (October 2000)

Key Documents

• Elements for Developing a National Mercury Reduction Strategy to Achieve Water Quality Standards (August 2003)
• QSC Comments on Defense Department Mercury Stockpile (July 2003)
• Letter to Administrator Leavitt in Support of the MA Alternative TMDL Proposal
• Letter to Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Environment, Mr. Daniel Reifsnyder (January 2007)
• U.S. Department of State's Response Letter to the QSC (February 2007)

Technical Assistance Documents (Provided By States)

• Safe Management of Surplus Mercury – Maine Letters (October 2000)