IDAHO FALLS -- The Idaho National Laboratory is not the federal government's top choice for storing thousands of tons of mercury.
The Post Register reports that a draft study by the U.S. Department of Energy instead picks a private facility in western Texas as the preferred option for storing up to 17,000 tons of mercury.
The agency's plans for long-term mercury storage has created a political storm in Idaho and other western states. In August, western governors wrote a letter to the agency expressing concern about the plan, pointing out that five of the seven states being considered are in the West.
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter has vowed to fight any effort to bury mercury in the state.
Agency officials say they are taking public comment on the study, then have a site operational by 2013.
