Comments: True statement: "The majority of people don't understand this: Rautio(VUI lobbyist) says supporters of the bill will make it clear that by authorizing regulations legislators will be lifting the moratorium" Love the following comments: " do you really suppose mcdicklehead and the rest of vui's cheerleaders even know that word...the dreaded "D" word...? the "uranium working group" and their gang of trained bureaucrats...real democracy in action, eh? "here, boys and girls, eat this yummy yellowcake! It's so good for you! If you won't eat it on your own, we'll FORCE FEED it to you!"
By Rose Ellen O'Connor, on November 19th, 2012
The company that wants to mine uranium in Virginia is supporting a bill in the upcoming General Assembly calling for regulations to govern the proposed mining, according to lobbyists for Virginia Uranium. The move is widely seen by environmentalists and others as a way to authorize the mining while avoiding an up or down vote on the controversial project.
If approved, it would be the first full-scale uranium mining project east of the Mississippi. Mining in the U.S. has traditionally taken place in arid areas of the West, and opponents of the mine say south central Virginia’s relatively wet climate and susceptibility to hurricanes, storms and even earthquakes increases the health and safety risks of uranium mining in the state.
Whitt Clement, head of the state government relations team at Hunton & Williams and one of 19 lobbyists employed by Virginia Uranium, told a closed-door meeting of Virginia business leaders in Williamsburg last month that the company is working on legislation that would authorize state agencies to draft regulations to govern mining rather than voting directly on the project, two of the businessmen present say. (Whitt is Coles' family)
“It’s a de facto lifting of the ban,” Robert Burnley, president of Strategic Environmental Advice in Richmond, a consulting firm working with mine opponents, and former director of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, says. “Once the regulations are in place, the mining can commence.”
Ben Davenport, owner of First Piedmont Corp., a waste removal company in Chatham, Virginia, also attended the meeting of the board of directors of the state’s Chamber of Commerce. Chatham, surrounded by bucolic farmland and rolling hills and streams, is about six miles from the Coles Hill site.
“I would think they see that as a way to get the ban lifted” without having to win on a direct vote, Davenport, a member of the pro-business Alliance for Progress in Southern Virginia, said.
“Apparently, they don’t think they can do that.”
Neither Clement nor Virginia Uranium returned calls requesting an interview.
Julie Rautio, also a lobbyist for the company, says there is no hidden agenda in the company’s plan to lobby for a bill authorizing state agencies to draft regulations. Rautio says supporters of the bill will make it clear that by authorizing regulations legislators will be lifting the moratorium. At the same time, Rautio says the bill does not guarantee approval of the mine
But opponents of the mine note that Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, has said he favors the mine if it can be proved safe and argue that his administration is likely to move swiftly to get regulations in place.
Virginia state Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, who opposes the mine, says the vote on regulations is an attempt to shift the focus away from a more difficult debate.
“I can see how those who want to promote the uranium mine would rather argue over the details of regulation than the bigger question of can you do it safely and protect public health and safety, the question of should we do it at all,” Edwards says.
However, Ben Davenport of the Alliance for Progress in Southern Virginia says just the possibility of a uranium mine has hurt the local economy, making it tougher to sell property near the proposed mine or attract newcomers to the area.
“We feel like a uranium mine would be a detriment to our economy,” Davenport said. “There’s a stigma and a perception that hurts our ability to attract businesses to locate here and people to move here.”
http://www.dcbureau.org/201211198092/natural-resources-news-service/end-run-supporters-of-uranium-mining-in-virginia-push-bill-to-effectively-lift-the-ban-without-an-up-or-down-vote.html
