Uranium Subcommittee to Hold Public Hearing in Chatham Jan. 6

Also, new info emerging on the study...

By TIM DAVIS/Womack Publishing Service
Tuesday, December 23, 2008 10:57 AM EST

The Virginia Coal and Energy Commission's Uranium Mining Subcommittee will hold a public hearing Tuesday, Jan. 6, at 6 p.m. at Chatham High School to receive public comment on its study of uranium mining.

"Subcommittee members want to hear from all interested parties what environmental, economic, scientific, engineering and related topics should be included in the study," said Del. Lee Ware Jr. of Powhatan, chairman of the subcommittee.

Ware stressed that it's too early to receive testimony on the "pros and cons" of uranium mining, but said the subcommittee wants to hear from the public on the scope of the study.

In addition to Ware, the subcommittee includes Del. Watkins Abbitt of Appomattox, Sen. John Watkins of Midlothian, Del. William R. Janis of Glen Allen, Del. Charles W. Carrico Sr. of Galax, Sen. Phillip P. Puckett of Tazewell, Del. Clarence E. Phillips of Castlewood, Del. Kristen J. Amundson of Fairfax County, Sen. Frank Wagner of Virginia Beach and Harry D. Childress.

Childress, a citizen member on the Coal and Energy Commission, is the former head of the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy. Abbitt was a member of the original commission that studied uranium mining in the 1980s.

The commission's chairman, Del. Terry Kilgore of Scott County, also serves on the subcommittee as an ex-officio member.

The study itself, while overseen by the subcommittee, will be conducted by Dr. Michael Karmis, a professor in the Department of Mining and Minerals Engineering and director of the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.

According to Ware, Karmis will work directly with the National Academy of Sciences.

The study is expected to take about two years.

Pittsylvania County is home to what is believed to be the largest uranium deposit in the United States.

The Coles Hill deposit was discovered in the early 1980s about six miles northeast of Chatham.

Two years ago, Walter Coles, who owns a majority of the deposit, formed Virginia Uranium Inc. in hopes of mining the uranium deposit, which is worth between $8 billion and $10 billion.

Before the deposit can be mined, however, the General Assembly would have to lift Virginia's moratorium on uranium mining, which has been in place since 1982.

The subcommittee will accept written comments on the scope of the study until Monday, Dec. 29.

Comments should be sent to Coal & Energy Commission, c/o Ellen Porter, Division of Legislative Services, 910 Capitol Street, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Comments also may be sent by email to eporter@dls.virginia.gov.

http://www.wpcva.com/articles/2008/12/23/altavista/news/news97.txt

Worried about uranium mining

Another excellent letter from a concerned citizen! Thanks for speaking out!

By Published by The Editorial Board

Published: December 5, 2008

To the editor:

I am greatly concerned about the possibility of uranium mining and milling here in Pittsylvania County, which is currently under consideration and dispute. History has clearly shown that uranium mining cannot be done safely. Areas where uranium mining has occurred have seen destruction of the environment (air, soil and water quality); an increase in serious health issues for humans and animals, including livestock; a decline in the ability to safely use the land for agriculture for farming or raising livestock; and the rapid decline of property values, and subsequently economic growth. Uranium mining affects the surrounding environment, the health of those who live there and an area’s economy for generations to come.

I much too frequently hear local residents talk about how difficult it is to convince young people to make their home here in Pittsylvania County because the economy is so bad. Well, the economy here is only going to get worse if uranium mining is allowed to occur here in our backyard. Who would want to buy or eat produce grown in a contaminated area? Who would want to purchase a home in an unhealthy area? Those of us who are homeowners will not even be able to sell our home and move away to protect the health of ourselves and our families. The exodus of the young people from Southside — who take their energy, education and dreams with them — will only further erode our local economy.

I am incensed that uranium mining is believed to be OK to do in rural areas which are not densely populated. The large corporations and investors believe that those of us who live here in Southside will not be smart enough to recognize the inherent risks associated with uranium mining and milling.

They think that because many of us have families who have lived in the area for generations, because we have strong moral values and religious faith that makes us want to trust and believe in others, and because we may have lower incomes and/or less education than those in other areas of our state and nation, that we won’t know any better and that we will simply be happy to have a new employer in town.

Well, that new potential employer in town will be offering Southside residents a job in exchange for their health, their families’ health and the value of their home and property. They think they will blindly believe them when they say “uranium is safe or we wouldn’t do it.” That’s absurd! We all know better. Don’t let outsiders ruin our future — and that of our children and grandchildren — for their own personal gain.

DEBORAH L. GUERIN BARKSDALE
Chatham

http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/danville_letters/article/worried_about_uranium_mining_and_the_bailout/7819/#When:10:54:15Z

Why Spoil It With Uranium?

Note: I must confess that I find myself empathizing with Mr. Withington. My introduction to, and seduction by, the beauty of Southside, and particularly Pittsylvania Co., resulted from my travels through the area when I was a legal resident of SC but attending graduate school in western Maryland from 1988-2000.

I took several routes through Virginia during those 2 years and never did I drive though an area that was less than gorgeous. I'd grown up in KY, another beautiful Commonwealth, now marred in spots by expanding coal mines and, local to my home area, massive, ugly steel industries where once beautiful farm crops were grown and prize cattle grazed. I wanted to hope that Southside might be a new home, unspoiled by such ugly, destructive enterprises. Sometimes I would deliberately add a few miles to the trip so that I could drive through Pittsylvania Co...I had fallen in love with a little brick home in Blairs and loved driving by it. I was also charmed by parts of Danville and by Chatham.

When I learned that a uranium mine threatened to destroy so much of this beauty, I was appalled and welcomed the opportunity to work with SCC to help preserve the beauty of the area. A few weeks ago, I returned to Pittsylvania County to meet some of the current SCC members and suddenly found myself face-to-face with my little dream bungalow in Blairs. My immediate reaction was to check the realtor's listing for its price. Then reality set in and I had to admit that I couldn't invest in real estate that could soon be in a "hazard" area where it easily could lose its value quickly. My dream of teaching as an adjunct faculty member at Danville Community College (I'm an early retiree from community college ed in KY) and participating in so many interesting activities in Pittsylvania County were dashed...unless and until the moratorium on uranium mining is retained.

Mr. Withington apparently reached much the same conclusions as I did and I sincerely appreciate his writing to the Danville Register & Bee to express his views. I echo his sentiments: Why spoil it with uranium?

Smidgen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And now Mr. Withington's letter:

By Published by The Editorial Board, Danville Register & Bee

Published: October 10, 2008

To the editor:

My family and I are from South Carolina. Recently, on a trip back from New Jersey, we stopped by the Virginia Welcome Center. We were impressed to see that Virginia is trying to make a change toward green living.

We also stopped by Chatham to visit friends and noticed “No Uranium Mining” signs. I cannot understand how a state that is trying to become environmentally friendly would allow a process such as uranium mining to destroy the beautiful land found throughout Pittsylvania County. I also could not believe how close this mining would be to streams, farms and houses.

Instead of creating a potential environmental catastrophe, why not set up wind turbines and use the power of nature to produce power? I was shown the area that is proposed to be mined and I don’t see why a bunch of wind turbines couldn’t be set up instead. It is much less destructive and will also show the rest of the country that power can come from nature instead of harming it.

With all the talk lately about “going green,” why would Virginia want to do something on the complete opposite of the spectrum? Chatham needs to be protected from this crime against nature and set forth a good example for the rest of the country — and the world. We should also set forth a good example for the children, since they will be the ones having to live with the decisions made today.

JAMES WITHINGTON

John’s Island, S.C.

http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/danville_letters/article/t
he_election_and_uranium_mining/6743/

"Special Interest" in Local Uranium Issue is Financial

Perhaps Mr. Crider should have mentioned in his letter that he is an investor in Virginia Uranium, Inc. (part of the local uranium ore is on his property) and that he stands to make a huge amount of money should Coles Hill be mined. Perhaps that would help explain his disappointment in the information he heard presented, the hard cold facts about the dangers of mining uranium (I was there too).

Published by The Editorial Board, Danville Register & Bee

Published: September 11, 2008

To the editor:

As a native of Pittsylvania County who has lived near the Coles Hill uranium site most of my life, I have a special interest in learning as much as I can about the effects of mining. That’s why I attended the recent “educational seminar” held in Chatham by Southside Concerned Citizens.

Instead of finding anything “educational,” I sat through two hours of one-sided, unsubstantiated claims that we all are about to be wiped out. The folks holding the meeting seemed to think we should believe it just because they said it.

They used pictures of places far removed from Southside Virginia showing open-pit mines that had not been reclaimed, creating the false impression of what it would look like here.

Three people were running this “seminar,” including Shireen Parsons of Christiansburg. Odd as this may seem, Parsons, who was promoting something she called a “chemical trespass ordinance,” saw fit to say to the audience: “I am not a communist.”

She said that some people think she is a communist, and she simply wanted the audience to be reassured that she was not.

Among the very extreme claims, these folks said that if we ever allow uranium mining, all of Eastern Virginia will be destroyed and Gretna, Chatham and Danville will be uninhabitable. They claimed that no state or federal laws would protect us against such destruction.

Here’s how I see it: If environmental laws can stop a man from timbering because he might disturb a hoot-owl, I believe some of those same laws would take exception to destroying all of Eastern Virginia.

They also claimed that if the Coles Hill deposit is mined, blasting would go on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year for 35 or 40 years. Then Parsons said that residents all over Pittsylvania County (almost 1,000 square miles) would be able to hear this constant blasting.

To me, that doesn’t make any sense.

On the other hand, I know some of the local people involved in Virginia Uranium, and I know them to be honest as well as long-time friends and good neighbors. I have attended several of their “educational” briefings and asked hard questions about radiation, dust, tailings and water. They have provided reasonable and carefully documented responses and have never hesitated to point out areas where more study is needed.

ROY CRIDER, Chatham

http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/danville_letters/article/uranium_mccain_and_perriello/6111/

Uranium Education Seminar to be Held Friday in Chatham

By TIM DAVIS/Star-Tribune Editor
Wednesday, August 27, 2008 9:58 AM EDT

Southside Concerned Citizens and the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund will sponsor an educational seminar on proposed uranium mining in Pittsylvania County Friday, Aug. 29, at the Community Center at Chatham.

The program, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 7 p.m. at the new community center on South Main Street in Chatham.

The seminar will explore the environmental, social, and economic impact of uranium mining in Southside Virginia.

"Many citizens admit they don't know enough about the issue to have an opinion," said Shireen Parsons, a community organizer with the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund in Christiansburg.

"In a democracy, informed decision-making is essential," said Parsons. "With this goal, citizens and government officials are urged to attend this seminar in Chatham on the proposed Coles Hill uranium mine."

Representatives of Southside Concerned Citizens and the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund will present issues and information on how communities can protect themselves from uranium mining.

Informational hand-outs will be available, and a question-and-answer session will follow the presentations.

The anti-uranium groups have held similar educational seminars in recent weeks at New Prospect Baptist Church in Hurt and Gretna Middle School in Gretna.

They also are organizing petition drives in hopes of convincing local officials to adopt "chemical trespass" ordinances aimed at uranium mining.

Earlier this month, Chatham Mayor George Haley said he wants the town to consider a chemical trespass ordinance to protect residents from the dangers of uranium mining.

"I think we would be remiss not to learn more about chemical trespass ordinances that have been enacted in other parts of Virginia," he said.

Halifax became the first locality in Virginia to adopt a Corporate Mining and Chemical and Radioactive Bodily Trespass ordinance last February.

Halifax Councilman Jack Dunavant called the vote "historic."

"The people have finally agreed to protect their health and the environment from corporate assault," said Dunavant, who is chairman of Southside Concerned Citizens.

"It's time the constitution was evoked to give the power to the people to protect their own destiny and end this era of corporate greed and pollution," he added.

The ordinance is designed to hold corporations and governing officials permitting those corporations liable for chemical trespass.

Parsons said chemical trespass ordinances have been enacted in Pennsylvania to stop a variety of corporate actions, including the spreading of sewage sludge.

Ben Price, a project director with the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, said the action "empowers the community" and "is a first shot across the bow to let them know the people have the right to govern."

Read the full article here

Why Are We Even Considering Uranium Mining?

Another great Letter to the Editor of the Chatham Star-Tribune!


Wednesday, August 13, 2008 10:34 AM EDT

While I agree that the state of Virginia needs to explore alternative means of producing energy, this area of the U.S. is not well-suited for uranium mining.

I have been studying the issue of uranium mining in this part of Virginia ever since learning a uranium mine was being proposed.

A few days ago, I read an article in the April 4 issue of USA Today regarding a California-based uranium exploration company that leased more than 1,000 acres of land in Slope County, N.D.

Slope County is located in southwest, N.D.

I became curious about how Slope county compares to Pittsylvania County and decided to do research, using very recent data.

While Pittsylvania County has a land area of 983 square miles, the average land area of Virginia's 95 counties is approximately 429 square miles.

This compares to the average land area of 1,334 square miles for the 53 counties that make up North Dakota.

Slope County has a population of 767, compared to the 61,745 residents in Pittsylvania County plus Danville city's 48,411.

If we could "place" those 767 Slope County residents into Pittsylvania County, there would be less than one person per square mile.

In comparison, including the combined populations of Danville, Chatham, Gretna and Hurt which totals 52,282, this figure for Pittsylvania County would be 107 people per square mile.

Another fact is that the only two listed towns for all of Slope County are Amidon (population 26) and Marmarth (population 140).

The five counties bordering Pittsylvania have an average county population of approximately 50,840. The six counties bordering Slope County have a county population average of 5,576.

The nearest and largest town to the proposed uranium site in Slope County is Bismarck, N.C. Bismarck's population of 55,532 is approximately 120 miles away from the mine site.

Traveling 120 miles in every direction from the proposed Pittsylvania County uranium site would "take in" too many population centers to list in this letter.

For example, the population of Roanoke is 94,911 and the population of Lynchburg is 65,269.

In addition, there is in excess of 1.2 million people living along the busy I-40 corridor between Winston-Salem, N.C., to the west and Wake Forest, N.C., to the east.

All three populated areas are less than 120 miles away from the proposed Virginia mine site. A look at a map will show more examples.

There are other comparisons to make between a uranium mine proposal in Slope County, N.D., and a uranium mine proposal in Pittsylvania County.

One comparison is the average yearly rainfall. The rainfall in Slope County is just a third of the rainfall in Pittsylvania. Science tells us this area of Virginia is too wet for uranium mining.

Another example is state ranking in population. Virginia ranks 12th in population while North Dakota ranks 47th.

In conclusion, I see these comparisons as things the Virginia General Assembly needs to seriously consider.

I hope I have made my point.

Why are we even considering uranium mining in this part of the USA?

Tod Hoffman

Chatham

http://www.wpcva.com/articles/2008/08/13/chatham/opinion/opinion05.txt

Chatham Mayor Seeks Uranium Mining Law

Published: August 13, 2008

Chatham’s mayor wants Town Council to pass a chemical trespass ordinance against uranium mining to protect residents.

Mayor George Haley said it is the role of Chatham officials, elected and not elected, to protect people from the potential hazards associated with uranium mining.

He said he is concerned there isn’t enough being done to protect residents and hold people accountable if the state government eventually lifts the moratorium on uranium mining.

If approved, the mining would be done on Coles Hill near Chatham.

Chatham-Blairs Supervisor Henry A. “Hank” Davis Jr. said there are people on all sides of the fence when it comes to uranium mining – people who support it, those who don’t and people who want to know more.

Davis, an attorney, is concerned that Chatham doesn’t have the authority to make chemical trespassing a crime. There are state and federal laws that local governments can’t get around, he said.

Haley said all planning documents are written with regard to the safety, protection and welfare of the people. He said most of the people he’s talked to in Chatham are against mining.

Haley said if mining was safe, there wouldn’t be a moratorium.

“I don’t like what I see,” he said. “I want to be proven wrong.”

• Contact Bernard Baker at bbaker@registerbee.com or (434) 791-7986.

Read the original article here.

Way to go, Mr. Mayor! We really like the way you think!

Should Virginia Uranium chairman have been reappointed to river committee?

Wednesday, July 30, 2008 9:26 AM EDT

In 2004, Sen. Charles Hawkins nominated Walter Coles to serve on the Roanoke River Basin Advisory Committee.

The Roanoke River Basin Advisory Committee is an advisory committee to the Virginia delegation to the Roanoke River Basin Bi-State Commission.

The Bi-State Commission's purpose is to provide guidance and make recommendations to local, state and federal legislative and administrative bodies regarding use, stewardship and enhancement of the Basin's water and other natural resources.

The commission provides a forum for discussion of issues affecting the basin's water quantity, quality and other natural resources.

It also identifies basin-related problems, recommends appropriate solutions, undertakes studies and prepares, publishes and disseminates information through reports.

The Senate Rules Committee reappointed Coles in 2006.

During Coles' second term, he formed Virginia Uranium Inc. and began uranium exploration in Pittsylvania County.

Coles' term expired on June 30 and he was eligible for reappointment. The Senate Rules Committee did reappoint him and he will serve through 2010.

When the General Assembly convenes next session Virginia Uranium lobbyist Whittington W. Clement will be lobbying on behalf of Virginia Uranium regarding "matters relating to the establishment of a regulatory program controlling development of Virginia's uranium resources."

I guess some can have their (yellow) cake...and eat it, too.

Karen B. Maute

Danville

A note from Gregg: Thanks Karen! You nailed it!