Chatham Council Studies the "Study"

(From the Danville Register Bee 01/15/2008)

By JOHN R. CRANE

CHATHAM - In another chapter of Pittsylvania County’s ongoing uranium saga, mining opponents and supporters urged the Chatham Town Council to sign their respective resolutions Monday night.
However, council members decided to table the two proposed resolutions for further study.
The first, brought forth by Southside Concerned Citizens, asks the council to pass a resolution supporting Virginia’s moratorium on uranium mining.
The other, a proposal from Virginia Uranium Inc., requests that the council pass a resolution supporting a study to determine whether uranium mining can be done safely in the commonwealth.
Besides the environmental havoc uranium mining would bring to the county, it would also cause economic damage, opponents said. Property values would plummet, said Chatham resident Barbara Dillon, leaving homeowners unable to afford selling their houses and forcing them to live in an area contaminated by radioactivity.
“Don’t jeopardize the community for a few investors of yellowcake,” Dillon said.
Hargrave Military Academy and Chatham Hall also would be affected, said Eloise Nenon, board member of Southside Concerned Citizens, a group opposing uranium mining.
“Parents are not going to send their children to a boarding school near a uranium site,” Nenon said.
Exploratory drilling already has begun at the site, which is located on Coles Hill outside of Chatham. The Board of Zoning Appeals granted a special-use permit to Virginia Uranium last week so it can place trailers on the site to store uranium core samples.
Walter Coles Jr., executive vice president of Virginia Uranium, said the study is the next step that is needed as the region tries to transform economically.
He pointed to his family’s heritage of tobacco farming in the community since the early 19th century. But the family hasn’t grown tobacco since 2005, Coles said, adding the county needs available jobs.
“At the very least, it deserves consideration,” he said.
After both sides presented their arguments, council member Alvin Crider concurred with Virginia Uranium officials that a study would be helpful in deciding whether mining uranium at Coles Hill would be beneficial to Pittsylvania County.
Crider said his position doesn’t mean he supports mining, but he respects Virginia Uranium’s request.
“I think that what Virginia Uranium is asking for is just for a study,” Crider said. “That’s the key word, ‘study.’
“With today’s technology, I think it’s fair that we look into this,” he added. “There is no more tobacco farming; we’ve lost industry after industry. I support a study.”
Crider made a motion to grant the request, but council member Robert Thompson quickly made a substitute motion to table the matter and make a decision at the next town meeting.
Council voted 5-1 to table the matter, with Crider voting against the motion and council member Calvin Younger abstaining.