VIRGINIA BEACH
The city and its hired lobbying firm are parting ways after 10 years, a split instigated by conflicting views on the possibility of uranium mining in Pittsylvania County.
The City Council this month came out in opposition to mining, citing water quality concerns. The city’s lobbying firm, The Vectre Corp., also represents Virginia Uranium, Inc., the company who wants to mine the radioactive substance used in nuclear power plants.
The city told Vectre to choose who they want to represent. “You can’t serve two masters,” Vice Mayor Louis Jones said. “We need someone representing our viewpoint.”
The city pays Vectre $68,900 a year. Last year, the firm was paid $30,800 working for Virginia Uranium, which wants state legislators to lift a 25-year moratorium on uranium mining.
The Beach asked Vectre to make a choice: represent the city or Virginia Uranium, not both. Vectre President Benson Dendy said he chose to stay with the mining company, which it represented long before Virginia Beach took a position against the uranium project.
"This is not acrimonious or anything," said Bob Matthias, assistant to City Manager Jim Spore.
No decision has been made whether to hire a new lobbying firm, Matthias said.
The mining site in south central Virginia is about 200 miles from Virginia Beach. City officials fear that flooding from a hurricane could damage mining operations and unleash radioactive material that could contaminate Lake Gaston, the city's water source, which is about halfway between the proposed mine and the city.
Aaron Applegate, (757) 222-5122, aaron.applegate@pilotonline.com
http://hamptonroads.com/2008/12/mining-issue-causes-va-beach-lobbyists-part-ways
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