Staunton River District Supervisor Marshall Ecker's column
On July 9, a citizens’ forum was held in Chatham to gather input on uranium mining and milling in Pittsylvania County.
More than 200 citizens turned out for this first forum to voice their concerns, pro and con, to local supervisors.
Banister District Supervisor Jesse Barksdale and I co-chaired the forum, and as I listened to each speaker it became evident that most were pouring out their hearts to have someone on a local level of government really take an interest in what they had to say.
We recorded the forum and last night we listened to it again and made notes on what each speaker had to say. Again, I heard the pleas to take action to protect our way of life in Pittsylvania County.
The course of action Mr. Barksdale and I agreed to take is twofold:
First, draft a strong resolution to present to the full board to consider by way of the legislation committee.
After approval of full board, we would send this resolution to all legislators in Richmond and our governor.
Second is to revisit our local ordinances to make sure that we can protect the health, welfare and property values of all Pittsylvania County citizens.
This will be a big undertaking, but it is small compared to what many citizens have done already in trying to make everyone aware of what is at stake in Pittsylvania County if we don’t take steps to protect our way of life now before it is too late.
http://www.wpcva.com/opinion/article_8c62c956-d669-11e1-b31c-0019bb2963f4.html
Bi-state water board dives into uranium fray
SoVaNow.com / July 26, 2012
Uranium dominated Wednesday’s meeting of the Roanoke River Bi-State Commission, with a vote for the full body to move forward with a resolution condemning uranium mining in Virginia.
The Bi-State Commission, meeting in Henderson, N.C., also received a newly unveiled study commissioned by the Roanoke River Basin Association concluding there could be long-term chronic degradation to the region’s water supply should anything go awry.
The Bi-State Commission was set up about 10 years ago by Virginia and North Carolina to work cooperatively on water and natural resource issues. Both state’s delegations are comprised primarily of legislators; the Virginia side includes, among others, Del. James Edmunds of Halifax, State Sen. Frank Ruff of Clarksville and Fifth District Congressman Robert Hurt of Chatham (who was absent).
The Bi-State Commission’s vote to preliminarily approve a resolution represents another significant move by North Carolina legislators and policymakers to fight uranium mining in Virginia, fearing they have nothing to gain and everything to lose.
“We’ve reached a point [where we] … need to make a statement that we really mean business,” said past chairman Del. Edith Warren, a Democrat representing Martin and Pitt counties in North Carolina.
The resolution will be presented to both Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell as well as the Uranium Working Group, established by him to set up a framework for uranium mining and milling regulations.
The commission will take as a basis for its resolution the North Carolina delegation’s already-passed resolution against Virginia’s possible lifting of its 30-year-old uranium ban, citing the potential for “enormous and unacceptable” environmental and economic consequences if something goes awry.
The commission is aiming to pass its updated resolution next month.
Del. Charles Poindexter, a Franklin County Republican, abstained from the vote, saying he would await the results of the Uranium Working Group.
Poindexter was among the legislators who made news last year for accepting a $10,000 trip to France to see uranium facilities, paid for by Virginia Uranium Inc., one of the companies seeking to mine and mill an enormous deposit near Chatham.
The Roanoke River Basin Association, a non-governmental non-profit that opposes uranium mining in Chatham, released its study by Dr. Robert Moran that details high water usage by the mining and milling process that, it asserts, would increase water competition and could deplete nearby drinking wells.
The Roanoke River Basin’s Olga Kolotushkina also passed out copies of Virginia Uranium Inc.’s own study, never released publicly, that she acquired through the Canadian Securities Administrators, where VUI was required by law to file.
The commission also got review of the city of Virginia Beach’s Phase 2 study of the uranium mine’s potential impact on its water supply, which shows devastating effects for bodies of water closest to the mine and mill should a catastrophic event release toxins into the watershed.
The Banister River in Halifax and Clarksville, on Buggs Island Lake, would be especially vulnerable, and contaminants would stay in the river-bottom sediment for decades, according to Dr. Peter Pommerenk of the City of Virginia Beach.
http://www.sovanow.com/index.php?/news/article/bi-state_water_board_dives_into_uranium_fray/
History's arc runs through Coles Hill
To the editor:
The current debate concerning uranium mining is so rich in symbolic meaning that I find it difficult to believe that it’s real. To me, it seems almost more like a cosmic test for mankind than an event that would organically emerge through the course of human affairs.
Allow me to explain.
Human history is marked by the recurrence of certain themes. These include: Power, oppression, rebellion, freedom, stagnation, novelty, war, renaissance and so on. These cycles play out in their long-forms across spans of centuries before culminating into singularly self-reflective events that precipitate far-reaching changes. Every now and then, the pattern spirals in on itself and the individual iterations of the larger ideas become shorter, more immediate, more condensed and more intense than ever before. This is how we come to know that transition is imminent. Think Boston Tea Party.
The uranium mining issue is one such microcosmic event, representing in one fell swoop the major tensions of our time. Environmental health and sustainability is chief among these. Others include escalating cancer rates, economic fallout, depressed labor pools, excessive and exploitative profiteering, governmental corruption and collusion, shifting notions of collective property and community identity, technological advancement and globalization. The potential for danger via public health crisis yields a life-and-death timbre to this moment that solidifies its significance. We here in Danville and Pittsylvania County are bearing witness to history-in-the-making, and for once we have a front-row seat.
The process and the results of this event will have a progressive and evolving effect no matter what the immediate outcome. Whether the initial conclusion falls in favor of the corporation/landowners or their opponents, the energy generated by this debate will necessitate a large-scale revelation that will increase awareness at both the individual and cultural levels. The determination exhibited by both sides is creating so ubiquitous a presence that virtually everyone will have to decide who they are and where they stand in relation to this issue.
The verdict as it is officially declared will answer for us certain questions that are still lingering in the darker reaches of our subconscious minds. Questions like: Are we a democracy, an oligarchy or a "corporatocracy"? Do we care more about ourselves in the present, or our progeny in the future? Will we ever change our approach to the environment, or will we succumb to the toxicity of our preferences for modern conveniences? When the chips fall, we will know for certain exactly who and what we are.
And a mass enlightenment of this magnitude can only lead to a shift in power toward the hands of the common people. As one who is decidedly and staunchly against uranium mining, I have been impressed by the passion and the talent exhibited by those who share my perspective. This concentration of spiritedness cannot be defeated, even if the ban is lifted. Such a disappointment will only fuel this fire into an unstoppable conflagration of social reform. The arc of history bends toward justice, and the people cannot truly lose here. Mining proponents of any social stature should be thusly advised.
SEAN BARKER
Danville
http://www2.godanriver.com/news/2012/jul/26/historys-arc-runs-through-coles-hill-ar-2084594/
