Wednesday, July 13, 2011 9:00 AM EDT
By Frank Newell
The Cherokee Indians who lived in the mountains of North Carolina long ago had a saying concerning the streams that flowed through their homelands. The saying was that water flowing over seven rocks was purified. As a boy growing up in Warren County, fishing and swimming in practically every branch, stream and creek in the county, I learned firsthand that water flowing over and around a sandbar was clean and fine to drink.
Now I had said all of that mainly to point out that Lake Gaston is not only a place of beauty, but also a place of peace. However, there is a dark cloud hanging over the horizon, a cloud that is a threat to the peaceful life of the lake people. If that cloud spreads downstream, it will surely destroy the peaceful environment of Lake Gaston and will adversely affect their health.
I have reviewed the impact study that a Virginia Beach engineer conducted on this project. Any reasonable person who even mildly cares about the environment would be greatly concerned and disturbed. In the past, radioactive waste from uranium mines was not properly handled, which resulted in radioactive contamination of ground and surface waters. Currently, the state of Virginia has a ban on uranium mining. In order for this mining operation to move forward, the Virginia legislature will have to reverse the ban.
Read more:
http://www.vancnews.com/articles/2011/07/13/warrenton/opinion/opinion02.txt
