Katie Whitehead
Published: December 27, 2008
The Uranium Mining Subcommittee of the Virginia Commission on Coal and Energy is responsible for overseeing all aspects, including the scope and design, of the study that will inform the General Assembly’s decision whether to reaffirm or lift Virginia’s moratorium on uranium mining.
The subcommittee met for the first time Dec. 12 in Richmond. The meeting included brief remarks by Dr. Michael Karmis, a professor in the Department of Mining and Minerals Engineering at Virginia Tech and director of the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research. It also included a public hearing to receive suggestions. Twenty people spoke representing citizen and/or industry interests.
A uranium study group formed by the Halifax County Chamber of Commerce presented its report to the subcommittee, recommending the study have a broad scope that focuses on actual evidence from modern uranium operations and mining communities.
Dr. Karmis offered his technical expertise to help the subcommittee write a “two-page” scope of work and “to see that it is adhered to” during the study process. He referred to “that deposit,” suggesting he may think the study is supposed to focus on the Coles Hill site in Pittsylvania County only.
Defining the scope of the study plays a critical part in determining the value of the study results, since the scope determines what will actually be studied, what questions will be asked, and what evidence will be considered in answering them. A narrow scope, tight budget or short timeline would leave out important questions, perhaps the very questions that ordinary citizens, our representatives in government, and industry experts most want answered.
The subcommittee has the responsibility to structure an independent and thorough study based on evidence of all types — environmental, public health and economic. Citizens expect the subcommittee and Dr. Karmis to define the study task unprejudiced by assumptions regarding funding sources, interest in Coles Hill, the preferences and budget of Virginia Uranium Inc., NAS’s “typical” timeline, or the view that we only need and want to know about certain issues.
Clearly, the study should not be limited to Coles Hill, given that there are very likely other commercially viable uranium deposits in Virginia where mining permits may be pursued if the statewide moratorium is lifted. In the 1980s, Marline Uranium Corporation leased mineral rights on approximately 50,000 acres in Virginia’s Piedmont in Pittsylvania, Henry, Orange, Madison, Culpeper and Fauquier counties. Other areas, including downstream water users in Virginia and North Carolina, could also be affected.
We have an opportunity to learn from others’ experience with modern, regulated uranium mining. At the same time, we need to keep in mind that compared to most uranium mining sites Virginia has a wetter climate, more people per square mile, and different geology and hydrology. We need to be sure that both recent experience with uranium mining and Virginia’s unique conditions are thoroughly investigated.
To learn how your voice can be heard, please e-mail me at the address provided below.
Whitehead, a Pittsylvania County native who chairs the DRBA Mining Task Force, recently served on the Halifax County Chamber of Commerce Uranium Study Group. E-mail her at mkwhitehead@yahoo.com
http://www.starexponent.com/cse/news/opinion/article/uranium_mining_a_major_issue_for_va/26808/
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