Churches unite against uranium mining in Virginia

The Interfaith Center said it will join forces with the Keep the Ban coalition and work with the faith-based community to keep Virginia free of uranium mining…..

Virginia Interfaith Center opposes uranium mining, Canadian Business, By AP | August 17, 2011, RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy announced its opposition Wednesday to ending a 1982 state ban on uranium mining.

The faith-based group, which has advocated for expanded health care for children and low-income families and battled predatory lending practices, said it joins environmental groups and others opposed to uranium mining.

Ending the nearly three-decades-long moratorium could be debated in the 2012 General Assembly.

The center’s opposition is based on concerns about the environment, mining’s impact on public health and the risk to Southside Virginia’s economy…..

“The bottom line is Virginia uranium mining is a risky experiment,” said Trieste Lockwood, director of the center’s Interfaith Power and Light program. “It hasn’t been done in Virginia before and we simply don’t think it’s worth jeopardizing the health of our communities.”….

Lockwood said the science has been clear that the radioactive ore and mining pose health and environmental risks.

“A uranium mine would create millions of pounds of radioactive water, rock and airborne dust,” she said. “This simply makes no sense for our state.”

Wales said it’s “alarming” that opponents won’t wait until the NAS report is issued.

“What other really important public policy issues do we weigh in this country in the absence of sound, independent science,” he said.

The Interfaith Center said it will join forces with the Keep the Ban coalition and work with the faith-based community to keep Virginia free of uranium mining…..

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/article/40522–va-interfaith-center-opposes-uranium-mining

August 18, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Religion and ethics, USA

1 Comment »

Urgent!!! Please write to U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar
say no to this insane push to open uranium mining in the grand canyon!!!
http://www.doi.gov/public/contact-us.cfm

U.S. legislators push for uranium mining rights with new Act; area officials rally to pressure Salazar

October 13, 2011
Today’s News Herald
Jayne Hanson

U.S. Lawmakers have renewed hope of dispelling misinformation and controversy surrounding the closure of uranium-rich lands and rights to mine one million acres near Grand Canyon in Northern Mohave County. A handful of lawmakers teamed Wednesday to introduce the Northern Arizona Mining Continuity Act to Congress.

The legislation will stop the U.S. Department of Interior from banning mining in a vast area of Arizona — a measure that could kill the promise of hundreds of mining industry jobs in the area.

The lands, currently closed to new and exploratory uranium mining, face a potential 20-year withdrawal period at the hands of U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

The Act is set to rev economical interest surrounding the uranium mining issue and to dispel misinformation so far circulated by environmentalist groups, lawmakers said.

LAWMAKERS

U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said he expects opposition from some members of Congress, but is confident the jobs focus is the hook.

“There is opposition from some in Congress, we know that,” Flake told Today’s News-Herald Wednesday. “But if people are concerned about jobs then they will be in favor of this.”

However, the congressman anticipates bouts of legislative gridlock along the way.

“I expect general gridlock in Congress,” Flake said. “The Senate simply isn’t moving any legislation.”

Flake also said much misinformation lingers with environmentalist groups when it comes to uranium mining.

“There is a lot of misinformation,” Flake said. “We’ve got to be methodical and get information out and keep going with it. It takes more time on our part to explain it because it is an easy tag for environmentalist: ‘protect the Grand Canyon.’ The other side seems intent on blocking all mining or job-producing activities.”

Fellow U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., agrees.

“I think people are fact versus fiction,” Gosar said Wednesday.

The issue is again picking up some steam because Americans are starting to weigh the facts when it comes to uranium mining. Environmentalists groups have employed “scare tactics” and “muddied the water” pertaining to the mining process, he said.

“It’s a very, very safe mining process,” Gosar said. “Our job is to educate the public what is fact … back East they don’t understand what we deal with in the big, wide-open states like Arizona. We are at a point where government can get back to working with the public. It is a source of wealth and source of future jobs and can be done in an environmental way.”

The Act would uphold the historic agreement embodied by the Arizona Wilderness Act of 1984, or AWA, that designates parts of Arizona Strip as Wilderness and restored other lands to reasonable and safe uranium mining use. AWA states banning mining on Arizona Strip isn’t allowed, according to a group-Legislator press release issued by U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

U.S. Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz. said President Obama is missing the mark by putting “rabid environmentalists above America’s long-term energy independence and national security,” according to the prepared statement.

U.S. Rep. David Schweikert said for top government officials to ignore the proposed legislation simply is a job-killer.

“At a time when we are desperate for jobs and economic growth, this Administration continues to do everything in its power to implement the job-killing policies of fringe environmental groups,” Schweikert said in the prepared statement. “This withdrawal is not so much a protection of the Grand Canyon, but a government land grab of economically fertile mining land.”

Republican senators Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee, both of Utah, also supported the Act, as well as U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, and U.S. Rep. Ben Quayle, R-Ariz.

According to earlier reports, uranium mining could create hundreds of jobs for struggling communities in Northern Arizona and Southern Utah and could equal billions in revenue for Arizona.

THE COALITION

Coincidentally, Arizona-Utah Local Economic Coalition met Wednesday in St. George, Utah. The Coalition is a group of governmental officials representing Mohave County, Fredonia and Williams in Arizona; and counties of Kane, Washington, Garfield and San Juan in Utah. The group has been circling the wagons, so to speak, for several months in order to roadblock Salazar’s intended 20-year moratorium.

“There was a review of our economic development study we did, we are finalizing that,” said Buster Johnson, Coalition co-chairman, Wednesday.

Johnson said the independent study revealed average mining industry wages to be about $55,000 annually compared to tourism job wages, which bank $20,000 or less annually.

“The majority of tourism jobs are usually supplemental, or secondary,” he said. “It’s hard to raise a family on tourism dollars. Where as, mining jobs are more the type to raise a family on.”

Bureau of Land Management is set to release its final Environmental Impact Study pertaining to the issue. After 30 days, Salazar makes a decision to move ahead with the closure, or not. Coalition officials anticipate a decision near the end of November, Johnson said.

The Coalition’s cause is gaining propulsion with support from school districts, chamber of commerce organizations, and irrigation districts — all in the path of looming economic impacts linked to the extended closure. The Coalition’s next meeting is set Dec. 6 in St. George.
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Comment by F Hall | October 19, 2011 | Reply

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