December 27, 2011 12:20 AM
Jessica SabbathEditor’s note: This story is part of Virginia Business’ look at the upcoming General Assembly session in its January issue. The issue, which will be available online on Dec. 29, also includes an interview with Gov. Bob McDonnell and a discussion of Virginia politics by a panel of journalists, academics and former cabinet members.
Not everyone agrees uranium mining would be such a good deal for Southern Virginia. Phillip and Deborah Lovelace also decided to raise cattle during their retirement at their family farm, located about five miles from the uranium deposits. They worry about what a uranium mine would mean for their well water, air quality and health. “We came back to the family farm to retire here, and we hopefully can pass it on to our children,” says Deborah Lovelace. “My youngest daughter’s about to go to college, but I wouldn’t want to raise children here [if the mine were built].”
Neighbors aren’t the only voice of opposition. Environmentalists and advocacy organizations from around the state are fighting to prevent uranium mining from being allowed in Virginia, arguing it would threaten drinking water, pose public health risks and degrade quality of life.
After receiving two in-depth science and socioeconomic studies on uranium mining in December, the General Assembly may consider this year whether to lift a 30-year moratorium on uranium mining.
So, instead of the retirement he envisioned, Coles runs a company that wants to mine and process uranium deposits worth an estimated $7 billion at today’s prices, leading what is likely to be one of the most contentious battles in this year’s General Assembly.
Eventually four state governmental bodies (including the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission) determined in 1984 the moratorium should be lifted if recommendations from the state’s Uranium Task Force for permitting and regulations were put in place. The issue was dropped, however, when in the wake of the 1979 accident at the Three Mile Island reactor in Pennsylvania, the U.S. nuclear energy industry stalled. Marline gave up its plans as the price of uranium sank.
A study by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is expected to be a key guide for legislators as they consider whether to lift the moratorium. The 302-page report did not recommend whether or not to allow mining, but it concluded that Virginia faces “steep hurdles”
The Roanoke River Basin Association came to a different conclusion. “The NAS study does not demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that uranium mining in Virginia’s wet climate will pose absolutely no threat to public health and safety,” says Andrew Lester, executive director of the association. “In fact, the study lists potentially insurmountable challenges in addressing the technological and regulatory problems with uranium mining in Virginia.”
If the moratorium is lifted, the state would create a regulatory framework for uranium mining, and Virginia Uranium could begin the years-long process of seeking the required local zoning approvals and state and federal permits.
Opponents believe legislators don’t have enough time to adequately examine the NAS study before this year’s General Assembly session. “One of our many concerns is that the industry is trying to push this forward without regard to the fact that the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission hasn’t been able to have a public outreach process,” says Calle Jaffe, a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center.
The opposition
A host of environmental and government groups (such as the Virginia Municipal League and the Virginia Farm Bureau) and localities either are strongly opposed to uranium mining or at least want the General Assembly to delay consideration of the issue.
Historically, the uranium industry has a poor track record of protecting the environment and public health. Geologists argue that technology and science have improved enough to allow uranium to be mined with low risk. “I know from past experience we can extract resources from the earth with minimal exposure to the environment and public health,” says Robert Bodnar, a geology professor at Virginia Tech who has been involved in mining for more than 30 years.
Another scientist, however, believes the Coles Hill deposits would likely contaminate the local groundwater.
The Roanoke River Basin Association asked Robert Moran, a Colorado hydrologist, to conduct an analysis of Coles Hill. Using current technical reports from Virginia Uranium and a Marline report from the 1980s, Moran said that conditions such as naturally permeable rock, seismic activity and degradation of liners of tailing containments could create seepage into local water supplies.
The containment of tailings, the remnants from the uranium mining process, is among the biggest concerns about the industry.
The potential threat to water supplies has caught the attention of Virginia’s largest city, Virginia Beach. The city spent $600,000 on two studies to determine the effect of the breaching of tailings containment facilities on its water supply, which is downstream from the proposed uranium sites. The study concluded it would take two years for contaminants to be cleaned from the water under this scenario. “The [city council’s] current position is that there are just too many studies coming out this month or early next year, and there’s simply no time for the public or the city to properly consider these studies for any action,” says Tom Leahy, public utilities director for Virginia Beach.
Cotter Corp.’s uranium mill near Canon City, Colo., provides a cautionary tale on the importance of properly managing tailings. The mill, which operated off and on between 1958 and 2005, received many citations for air and water contamination and was declared a Superfund site in 1984. In 2005, a state regulator determined that even a tailings pond built under current regulations was determined unusable. In 2009, Colorado required Cotter to post a financial bond of $43 million to help pay for cleanup of the site, but the company so far has paid only $20.8 million of that amount.
But Moran says another major issue is that most of the uranium mining data today do not come from independent sources. “The modern operations are clearly done at a higher quality level than historic ones,” he says. “The bigger problem is that the information that’s generated from the projects — even the modern ones — is largely controlled by the corporations.”
Environmentalists have major concerns about Virginia’s ability to regulate uranium mines. “Even the best regulations don’t necessarily prove they will be able to protect us completely,” says Lester of the Roanoke River Basin Association.
Another concern stems from the fact that tailings remain for thousands of years. “Companies will do a reasonably good job while the operations are active, but once they shut down, who’s going take care of the site forever?” asks Moran.
Study shows hurdles with uranium mining
The National Academy of Sciences’ report determined Virginia faces “steep hurdles” in establishing a regulatory framework to protect employees, public health and the environment if uranium mining is allowed.
The study did not include a blanket recommendation on uranium mining in Virginia but identified health and environmental risks such as radiation exposure and groundwater contamination. The report said these risks could be reduced by implementing industry best practices and establishing a stringent monitoring system.
One of the key obstacles in regulating uranium mines is lack of experience on the state and federal level. Conventional mining is a small industry in the U.S. and currenlty done only in the West. The report recommended the state consider the entire lifecycle of a mine or mill during the planning phase, including post-mining monitoring.
Containment of uranium tailings, the solids produced in processing, is one of the industry’s most significant environmental health concerns. Although technology has improved, data do not exist yet on the long-term effectiveness of modern procedures for containing tailings, the report said.
Read more:
http://www.virginiabusiness.com/index.php/news/article/a-turn-in-the-road-general-assembly-to-weigh-pros-cons-of-uranium-mining/315890/
