(Source: The Roanoke Times)
By Michael Sluss, The Roanoke Times, Va.
Dec. 13--RICHMOND -- A study of uranium mining should examine environmental impacts, safety issues and economic benefits, particularly in a Southside Virginia region that would be most affected by the activity, a legislative subcommittee was told Friday.
A subcommittee of the Virginia Commission on Coal and Energy also pledged to hold a meeting in Pittsylvania County to get more input from residents near a massive uranium deposit that could be mined if a state moratorium is lifted. The meeting likely will occur before the General Assembly session begins Jan. 14, members said Friday.
The state is working to establish parameters for an independent study of the impacts of uranium mining, focusing on a deposit in Pittsylvania County that contains an estimated 119 million pounds of uranium ore, which could be used to supply nuclear plants.
The uranium could be worth $10 billion. Walter Coles, who owns land where a mine is proposed, formed a company called Virginia Uranium to explore the prospects of mining there.
"I firmly believe that uranium development can be done in a way that's beneficial to the community and the region, as well as the state and the nation," Coles told the subcommittee.
Virginia imposed a moratorium on uranium mining in 1981. Environmental groups and Southside Virginia residents who are opposed to Coles' proposal want the ban to remain in place. But the Commission on Coal and Energy called for an independent study and Gov. Tim Kaine supports it.
The study, which will take about 18 months to complete, will be guided by the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research at Virginia Tech and conducted by the National Academy of Sciences.
Opponents have raised concerns about environmental and health risks, both in Southside Virginia and areas as far away as Virginia Beach, which draws its drinking water from Lake Gaston on the North Carolina border. Several speakers urged the subcommittee Friday to make sure the study fully investigates environmental impacts, land disturbance and other health and safety issues.
"You need to take into consideration -- very heavily -- our water supply," said Phillip Lovelace of Pittsylvania County. "Downstream, the people will be devastated. One breach, one time -- that's all it's going to take."
James Snead, a member of the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors, said the economic benefits for the region could be significant "if this can be done safely for the next hundred years."
Two lawmakers who are not on the subcommittee -- Del. Danny Marshall, R-Danville, and Del. Don Merricks, R-Danville -- urged the panel to hold a hearing in Pittsylvania County. Del. Lee Ware, R-Powhatan County, the subcommittee's chairman, agreed to the request.
Merricks said he is keeping an open mind about the issue but will need persuasion to support lifting the moratorium.
"I have to be shown beyond a shadow of a doubt that mining uranium could be done without any ... adverse effect on our area," Merricks said.
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1 comment:
Here's hoping they find a way to do it! We sure need more jobs here in the county and the economy really sucks around here.
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