Comment: Please call Gov Ban, Make the Ban 4/ever, no regulations for u mining, do not waste taxpayers monies: Call Governor McDonnell today. Tell him to Keep the Ban on uranium mining permanent! (804) 786-2211.
February 2, 2012
http://keeptheban.org/?p=1393
February 2, 2012
In May 2011 the Keep the Ban coalition launched with a concerned group of citizens, 1,000 signatures, 20 groups and one big goal: Keep the Ban on uranium mining in Virginia. And while the industry spent millions in lobbyists and trips this year, we were busy organizing and growing.
Today, more than 10,000 citizens have joined our campaign by speaking to their friends, family and legislators about the major public health and environmental risks uranium mining poses to Virginia; and, over 100 localities and organizations have voiced support for keeping the ban.
Thanks to the hard work of hundreds of volunteers, the uranium industry did not have the votes in the General Assembly to introduce a bill to lift the ban. On January 19th, Gov. McDonnell was forced to concede that a report from the National Academy of Sciences identified “important questions related to the health and safety of workers, the public, and the environment.” As a result, the ban will stay in place for 2012.
At the same time, however, Gov. McDonnell directed Virginia’s health, mining and environmental agencies to draft “conceptual regulations” for the General Assembly to consider in 2013. Governor McDonnell’s directive to create a draft statute and regulations, behind closed doors, is the first step toward lifting the ban.
The uranium industry has yet to show the citizens of Virginia that uranium mining can be done safely, and our legislators have not answered the fundamental public policy question: does Virginia want to take on the long-term economic and public health burden of mining uranium and storing millions of tons of toxic waste in our state?
Before we create regulations, we need to answer the question: Is it worth the risk to mine uranium in Virginia?
Call Governor McDonnell today. Tell him to Keep the Ban on uranium mining permanent! (804) 786-2211.
Today, more than 10,000 citizens have joined our campaign by speaking to their friends, family and legislators about the major public health and environmental risks uranium mining poses to Virginia; and, over 100 localities and organizations have voiced support for keeping the ban.
Thanks to the hard work of hundreds of volunteers, the uranium industry did not have the votes in the General Assembly to introduce a bill to lift the ban. On January 19th, Gov. McDonnell was forced to concede that a report from the National Academy of Sciences identified “important questions related to the health and safety of workers, the public, and the environment.” As a result, the ban will stay in place for 2012.
At the same time, however, Gov. McDonnell directed Virginia’s health, mining and environmental agencies to draft “conceptual regulations” for the General Assembly to consider in 2013. Governor McDonnell’s directive to create a draft statute and regulations, behind closed doors, is the first step toward lifting the ban.
The uranium industry has yet to show the citizens of Virginia that uranium mining can be done safely, and our legislators have not answered the fundamental public policy question: does Virginia want to take on the long-term economic and public health burden of mining uranium and storing millions of tons of toxic waste in our state?
Before we create regulations, we need to answer the question: Is it worth the risk to mine uranium in Virginia?
Call Governor McDonnell today. Tell him to Keep the Ban on uranium mining permanent! (804) 786-2211.
http://keeptheban.org/?p=1393
