Keep The Ban on Uranium Mining in VA:
Posted: Wednesday, December 7, 2011 10:42 am
Tim Davis/Womack Publishing News Service
Tornado on White Oak Mt in Spring, Again another Tornado in Nov.
A proposed uranium mine in Pittsylvania County would bring an economic windfall to the region with little risk to the environment, health and farming, according to a study released Wednesday.
The report, "The Socioeconomic Impact of Uranium Mining and Milling in the Chatham Labor Shed, Virginia," was prepared by Chmura Economics & Analytics of Richmond.
The Virginia Commission on Coal and Energy's Uranium Mining Subcommittee commissioned the $200,000 study with funding from the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission.
The uranium subcommittee presented Chmura's findings Tuesday evening at the Educational and Cultural Center in Chatham
Chmura acknowledged that its figures are based on the assumption that the uranium mine will be operated continuously and ultimately decommissioned within established federal guidelines, "which, by law, reduce environmental and public health risks to the surrounding communities to near negligible levels.
"Under the baseline scenario - a set of circumstances Chmura judges to be the most likely to occur - the industry brings substantial economic benefits to the region and the costs and risks to region's image, public health and environment are modest," the report concludes.
Chmura noted, however, that the benefits "drop considerably if environmental contamination exceeds federal guidelines.
"In a worst-case scenario the industry could present a substantial net cost to Virginia," the report warned.
Worst-case scenario
The report did cite concerns about the nuclear disaster in Japan and recent earthquake in Virginia.
"The possibility for extensive environmental degradation due to unseen natural disasters can never be ruled out," Chmura said.
It also looked at consequences if environmental contamination from the uranium mine exceeds limits set by federal standards.
Under such a scenario, Chmura assumed that approximately 1,350 homes within a five-mile radius could lose 30 percent of their value, resulting in a $76.9 million loss of real estate value and $400,000 in property taxes.
"Given the assumption that the environmental impact from the Coles Hill site exceeds federal standards, Chmura judges that both the agricultural and tourism sector could suffer from a negative stigma," the report said.
"The economic impact of this decline...is significant, since the agricultural and tourism sectors account for annual economic contributions of $409 million and $306 million, respectively," the report states.
"A 20 percent loss in both agriculture and tourism would yield a total yearly economic loss to Virginia of roughly $80.1 and $110.9 million, respectively, and the loss of more than 2,800 jobs."
Read more:
http://www.wpcva.com/altavista/news/local/article_87e5db28-20ea-11e1-82a5-0019bb2963f4.html
