On the face of it, the recent General Assembly vote to
create regulations to mine and mill uranium in Southside Virginia seems like a
good idea. Unfortunately, the vote cast by the Virginia Coal and Energy
Commission, a panel in the Virginia General Assembly, only sets the
commonwealth one step closer to lifting the 30 year old moratorium on uranium
mining.
The vote was 11-2 with abstentions[1]. Before
the vote, however, Sen. John Watkins (Powhatan) stated that his proposal to
create uranium-mining regulations in Virginia would only pertain to
Pittsylvania County.
Watkins’ “proposal” will ultimately make it more difficult
for opponents of uranium mining to make the argument that lifting Virginia’s
moratorium on uranium mining will lead to a statewide effort to mine uranium.
Watkins’ proposal will also make it easier for some legislators in the General
Assembly to swallow the pill of lifting Virginia’s uranium mining moratorium.
The site that has been the center of this contention is
Coles Hill, a piece of land that could contain up to 120 million pounds of
uranium ore, the largest such deposit yet known in the country. The price tag
that has been placed on this substantial sum of ore usually stands in the
billions of dollars.[2]
All of this may be well and good except for the fact that residents
of Southside Virginia in particular don’t want uranium mining to take place.[3]
The main reason that so many Virginians in this area are
opposed to uranium mining is the due to the rain-evaporation ratio. That is,
Virginia receives more rainfall on an annual basis than the environment can
evaporate, making Virginia a moist state and a uniquely risky place to mine
uranium.
In no other place in the country where uranium mining has
taken and is taking place has there been such a high amount of rain, increasing
the risks that uranium ore deposits will seep into the local water table and
into local water drinking supplies. And this is only one of the many risks that
Southside Virginians are concerned about.
As I’ve argued before, the issue shouldn’t be decided by
politicians and bureaucrats seemingly half a world away. It should be decided
by the people of Southside Virginia, where the mining is set to take place. And
the people of Southside Virginia have largely spoken with one unequivocal
voice: keep the moratorium on uranium mining in place.[4]
[1] http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/state-regional/legislative-panel-backs-uranium-mining-regulations/article_7b517230-58f9-11e2-9f0b-001a4bcf6878.html
[2] http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1880695,00.html
[3] http://hamptonroads.com/2013/01/roanoke-pastor-uranium-mining-bad-news-va
[4] http://www2.wsls.com/news/2012/dec/14/7/lt-gov-bolling-announce-uranium-mining-stance-ar-2417010/
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