Uranium mining can't be kept in the dark

April 5, 2012 The Virginian-Pilot shares, "Ranking members of Gov. Bob McDonnell's staff Wednesday invited a group of lobbyists and environmentalists for a uranium mining chat in an effort to dispel notions that Virginia's mining evaluation is occurring outside the public view... A statement issued by the Roanoke River Basin ssociation after the meeting complained that local citizen groups are being excluded from the discussion and some stakeholders received little advanced notice of the meeting." Progressive Point: Mining uranium in Virginia and the potential to contaminate our water supply with radioactive waste is too important to our communities for Gov. McDonnell to keep the approval process from the public. Transparency is essential for ensuring the public is aware, involved, and trusts their elected representatives. Mining a dangerous substance in our backyards and around our drinking water poses serious risks--a spill at the site could contaminate our tap water and make it undrinkable for millions of Virginia families. Virginians have a right to participate in the decision making process. Rather than have this discussions in daylight, Bob McDonnell is trying to sneak past us with no public input.

Get the Facts: In response to anti-transparency criticism, Gov. McDonnell announced a meeting on the issue but gave less than 24 hours notice. (Washington Post, April 4, 2012) Virginia Uranium, the company seeing to mine uranium in Virginia, has hired over a dozen lobbyists from five different firms and has donated over $150,000 to political campaigns in the last 4 years. (VPAP) "The Uranium Working Group's work plan presented at a March 7 meeting of the Uranium Mining Subcommittee drew instant, sharp criticism for its lack of transparency, which was deemed particularly reprehensible in light of the report by the National Academy of Sciences, which told us that international best practices are 'founded on principles of openness, transparency, and public involvement in oversight and decision-making.'" (GoDanRiver.com, April 1, 2012) Read more: http://www.progressva.org/progressivepoint/uranium_mining_cant_be_kept_in_the_dark.html