nuclear-news

Uranium lobbyists spent 100s of $1000s for Virginia mining: doesn’t make it safe

Proponents of mining, who spent more than $150,000 lobbying the General Assembly this year, understandably want a quick decision in their favor, most likely in the 2013 session. But with many serious and unanswered questions, no regulatory staff in the executive branch, no regulations and guidelines and strong opposition from across the political spectrum, we believe extreme caution is called for. In a matter such as this, there isn’t the luxury of a “do-over.”

Uranium Mining: Let’s Be Cautious   The News & Advance   August 09, 2012 Down the road in Pittsylvania County, just off U.S. 29 near Chatham, is Coles Hill Farm, which has been in Walter Coles’ family for more than 200 years.

It’s also ground zero in what is shaping up to be a monumental battle over whether Virginia’s almost-30-year-old moratorium on mining uranium, for beneath the rolling hills and pastures of Coles Hill Farm lies one of the nation’s largest deposits of the ore.

The General Assembly first imposed the moratorium in 1982 when Marline Uranium Corp. expressed interest in mining the deposit. Environmental and safety concerns were foremost in the minds of legislators who supported the moratorium.

And there the matter has sat for three decades. Until, Coles and a
group of investors formed Virginia Uranium Inc. five years ago to
pursue mining of the deposit.

As was the case 30 years ago, mining opponents have raised serious
questions as to the efficacy and safety of mining in Southside
Virginia: the temperate climate (most of North America’s uranium mines
have been in more arid regions), the problem of storage of radioactive
tailings on the site, the danger of ground and surface water
contamination…..

The Working Group now has begun a series of statewide hearings.
Openness and transparency, from the start, emerged as two of the
biggest problems with the group, as its members tried to wriggle out
of compliance with Virginia’s open records laws and only recently gave
the slimmest of public notification of its latest open meeting.

Proponents of mining, who spent more than $150,000 lobbying the General Assembly this year, understandably want a quick decision in their favor, most likely in the 2013 session. But with many serious and unanswered questions, no regulatory staff in the executive branch, no regulations and guidelines and strong opposition from across the political spectrum, we believe extreme caution is called for. In a matter such as this, there isn’t the luxury of a “do-over.”
http://www2.newsadvance.com/news/2012/aug/09/uranium-mining-lets-be-cautious-ar-2117717/

August 10, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general