The Virginian-Pilot
If there are 119 million pounds of uranium beneath Pittsylvania County, and the state legislature lifts the current mining moratorium, lots of people are going to get jobs.
That's a free economic impact analysis that state leaders are welcome to clip and save for future reference.
But that's apparently not good enough for some folks determined to spend a small fortune on a study that will inevitably reach the same conclusion.
The Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission voted last month to contribute up to $200,000 to an economic study of a potential mining operation. Sen. Frank Ruff, a Mecklenburg Republican, questioned the rationality of wasting money on an analysis before more pressing questions have been answered about the impact of uranium mining on public safety.
The Virginia Uranium Inc. is paying for the National Research Council, (pushed by the State of Virginia) an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, to examine whether uranium can be mined safely in Virginia's rainy climate.
A final report is expected in the fall of 2011. Virginia Uranium Inc., which owns the uranium deposit, is paying $1.4 million for that study.
That's why they asked the tobacco commission to foot the bill.
But the real questions should be "Why the rush, and why tobacco?"
Ruff tried unsuccessfully to delay the economic study for at least a few months.
That would give Virginia Beach time to complete its own study, which deals exclusively with the impact on the city's water supply if a major storm washed contaminated waste into Lake Gaston.
Located downstream from the proposed mine, the lake is the main source of drinking water for the Beach, helps replenish Norfolk-owned reservoirs and may one day provide water to Chesapeake.
But Ruff was ignored.
His colleagues on the tobacco commission are likely to regret their decision in short order.
One member of the panel participated in an initial vote to fund the economic study even though he has admitted he is an investor in the uranium company, raising questions about a conflict of interest. He abstained on later votes.
An economic study of uranium mining in Virginia is premature, if it's needed at all.
Exactly how much is less clear, but any estimates are irrelevant until state leaders can say with assurance that any uranium mine will be safe.
Read more:
http://hamptonroads.com/2010/05/first-prove-mining-can-be-safe
