The push for alternative power and energy independence has put Virginia on a fast track to exploring its uranium resources for use in nuclear power plants. In the 2008 legislative session, prompted by the man whose Pittsylvania County
The House's stall was understandable. In another bill, the Senate authorized the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy to draw up regulations for uranium mining, which has been banned since 1983. These simultaneous proposals –– to conduct a study and to write regulations –– rather than having one inform the other, and the undue haste about lifting a 25-year ban combined to convey an undeniable sense of being railroaded.
Yet a study was a good idea. So it's reasonable that the Virginia Commission on Coal and Energy has taken matters into its own hands. The 20-member commission consists of senators, delegates, and citizens appointed by the governor. Formed in 1979, its purpose includes "promoting and assisting in the development of renewable and alternative energy resources other than petroleum." In November, bypassing the legislature's inaction, it urged the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research at Virginia Tech to pair with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study of uranium mining in Virginia. A subcommittee of the commission will oversee the study, which is expected to take between 18 months and two years — pretty much the timetable in the Senate plan last year.
While the study is needed, there should be no rush to lift the 25-year moratorium on uranium mining. The legislature and the public must ensure that the study is independent and transparent, and that it answers the concerns about health and safety that have been expressed by environmentalists and residents.
What's known is that Walter Coles Sr. owns land covering roughly 115 million pounds of uranium or yellow cake, worth from $7 billion to $10 billion. To put that in perspective, the United States currently produces 4.7 million pounds annually and uses 65 million pounds. A mining operation in Chatham would provide hundreds of decent-paying jobs in a poor region of southside Virginia for more than 30 years.
What's not known is how uranium mining and milling, or processing, at that particular site would affect the region's air quality.
Or how it would affect the groundwater and the water supply of communities as far away as Virginia Beach, which receives its drinking water from Lake Gaston, fed by rivers in the area. The resort city's council has already passed a resolution against lifting the ban.
North Carolina, only about 20 miles south of the Coles property, also has a stake in the impact on water quality. Another unknown is how secure the storage of waste would be, a particular concern for groundwater and the surrounding watershed. The impact of a rainy climate and storms is a major unknown. Until now U.S. uranium mining has been confined to arid, relatively unpopulated areas of the West, with most yellow cake imported from Canada, Australia and Russia.
Answering all these health and environmental questions means keeping the process open, involving the public at every turn, and not rushing through state regulations on mining operations. And if financing for the study comes from Coles' Virginia Uranium Inc., which has offered a tantalizing $1 million, then the scrutiny of the scientists conducting the study must be all the more intense, and time must be allowed for peer review.
Nuclear power should be an increasing energy resource in Virginia and the country at large. That fact poses a significant opportunity for uranium mining. But it doesn't dictate dropping our guard against potential problems.
POSTSCRIPT
While it's reasonable that the state Coal and Energy Commission proceeds with this study, it's inappropriate that members of the commission have accepted political contributions from Virginia Uranium Inc. According to the Virginia Public Access Project, Virginia Uranium contributed almost $30,000 to state politicians in 2008, including four commission members: Sen. Frank Wagner of Virginia Beach ($2,000), Sen. John Watkins of Richmond ($1,000), Sen. Charles Colgan of Manassas ($1,000) and Del. Tim Hugo of Fairfax ($1,000). They should return the checks.For the full list, and a very useful, broad breakdown of political money in Virginia, check vpap.org.
http://www.dailypress.com/news/opinion/dp-ed_uranium_edit_0103jan03,0,3455291.story
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