By John Crane
Published: April 27, 2010
If a Virginia Beach study finds uranium mining and milling detrimental to Lake Gaston, then a socioeconomic study of the industry would be pointless, said a member of the Virginia Tobacco Commission’s executive committee.
State Sen. Frank Ruff, R-15th District, who is the commission’s vice chairman, said he voted against funding up to $200,000 for a socioeconomic study of uranium mining and milling during a meeting on April 15 because it “wouldn’t be wise” to spend money on the study if uranium mining and milling could contaminate water downstream.
“There (are) so many questions out there that need to be answered,” Ruff said during a telephone interview Tuesday. “They need to be answered in a systematic, orderly process.”
The Virginia Tobacco Commission should wait until the fall, when Virginia Beach’s study results are expected, to decide whether to pay for a socioeconomic study, Ruff said.
VUI is indirectly paying for a separate, statewide study emphasizing the technical and scientific aspects of mining and milling. The National Academy of Sciences and National Research Council are performing that study, which is expected to be finished in the fall of 2011.
Virginia Beach is studying what a proposed Pittsylvania County uranium mine and mill could do to its water supply — Lake Gaston — in the event of a weather-related disaster. The city is concerned about uranium mining and milling because Lake Gaston, a major source of its drinking water, is located downstream from Coles Hill, site of the proposed uranium mine and mill.
The Virginia Tobacco Commission will meet at 10 a.m. Thursday in Roanoke:
http://www.tic.virginia.gov
Commission Chairman Terry Gilgore, R-1st District, said Tuesday that the full commission doesn’t need to vote on the funding because the committee’s vote authorizes the money be spent on it.
But Ruff said the full commission should vote on it because “it would suit the public’s interest.”
Read more:
http://www2.godanriver.com/gdr/news/local/danville_news/article/lawmaker_spending_more_for_uranium_socioeconomic_study_not_wise/20563/
