RESOLUTION: SUPPORTING THE MORATORIUM ON URANIUM MINING IN VIRGINIA
Dan River Basin Association
WHEREAS, the Dan River Basin Association (DRBA) recognizes that a sustainable environment is important to the citizens, the economy and the need for supply of clean water in the Dan River Basin region in Virginia and North Carolina; and
WHEREAS, the mission of the DRBA, a 501 c (3) organization, is to preserve and promote the natural and cultural resources of the Dan River Basin through stewardship, recreation and education; and
WHEREAS, there is a proposed uranium mining and milling operation at Coles Hill in Pittsylvania County, VA, which would require lifting the current ban on such operations in the Commonwealth of Virginia; and
WHEREAS, in 1983, in response to proposals to mine uranium in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the General Assembly enacted a legislative moratorium on the mining of uranium in Virginia, which remains in effect today; and
WHEREAS, a company known as Virginia Uranium, Inc. has proposed to establish one of the largest uranium mining operations in North America in Pittsylvania County and has stated to its investors, that it will seek legislation to repeal the moratorium in the 2012 session of the General Assembly; and
WHEREAS, other localities in Virginia, including but not limited to the counties of Culpeper, Fauquier, Floyd, Madison, Orange and Patrick have all been identified as potential sites for additional uranium mining, thereby extending the potential effects of such mining far beyond Pittsylvania County, and
WHEREAS, the best available scientific information indicates that the social, environmental, health and economic impacts of proposed uranium mining and milling in the Basin outweigh expected benefits to residents of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the State of North Carolina; and
WHEREAS, on February 1, 2011, the City of Virginia Beach released the findings of its study of impacts of proposed uranium mining and milling on its water supply and concluded that in the event of a mill tailing confinement cell failure, the tailings will be washed downstream and will significantly impact water quality in Kerr Reservoir and Lake Gaston resulting in radiation levels in the water 10-20 times above the Safe Water Drinking Act levels; and
WHEREAS, because the Basin serves as a drinking water source for over one million people which could face increased risks associated with uranium mining, milling, and storage of radioactive waste; and
WHEREAS, the Dan River Basin Association is convinced that the social and psychological effect of uranium mining will be unquestionably negative, without regard to the assurances in any study of the safety of uranium mining, and will result in business, industry and population deciding to locate in areas other than those in proximity to uranium mining; and
WHEREAS, such decisions by prospective business, industry and residents will diminish, and potentially destroy, the economic development efforts of our entire region, and will sacrifice our economic future, including business recruitment, real estate values and retention of youth in our communities, with all the social stresses and ills attendant upon such economic decline, merely for the sake of the limited number of jobs directly created by uranium mining; and
WHEREAS, such destructive effects upon the efforts to improve the economy of this region will result in additional strain upon the financial resources of local, state and federal governments, through increased expenditures on social services programs, financial assistance, and subsidies, and will render the millions already spent in economic development ineffective; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Dan River Basin Association supports the continuation of the moratorium on uranium mining in Virginia and believes that uranium mining in Southern Virginia would be destructive to its people and economy, and detrimental to the people and economy of Virginia and North Carolina as a whole.
BE IT KNOWN that the Dan River Basin Association Board of Directors present at a meeting held on June 8, 2011 duly adopted this Resolution; and that said Resolution has been duly recorded in the Association minutes and is in full force and effect.
____________________ ____________________ __________________
Wayne Kirkpatrick, T Butler, Mark Bishopric,President Secretary Treasurer
Read more:
http://www.facebook.com/DanRiverBasinAssoc
