By Clay Barbour
Jillian Nolin
The Virginian-Pilot
CORRECTION: This story incorrectly implied that Norfolk and Virginia Beach rely entirely on Lake Gaston for their water supply. A change has been made below.
It's four hours from Norfolk, and is nowhere near reality yet, but the potential of a uranium mine 50 miles from one of Hampton Roads' main freshwater supplies has local leaders preparing for a fight this legislative session.
In the past three months, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Suffolk all have come out loudly against the Coles Hill uranium mine, a proposed facility in Pittsylvania County.
And recently, Norfolk and Virginia Beach have taken the extra step of paying thousands to lobbying firms to oppose the mine at the General Assembly. Together, the two cities will spend as much as $89,000 on the effort.
Critics say Hampton Roads cannot afford to have something so potentially dangerous close to its drinking water. The ramifications, they said, could be devastating to health and economy, especially considering the region's heavy reliance on tourism.
"People are afraid of radioactive contamination," said Ronald Jordan, with Advantus Strategies, the company Norfolk hired to lobby against the mine. "There are too many horror stories."
Virginia Uranium Inc., the company behind the mine, has for five years worked to repeal the state's now three-decade moratorium on uranium mining.
The land is in the Roanoke River Basin, which flows through the Kerr Lake reservoir into Lake Gaston. Lake Gaston supplies between 25 percent and 40 percent of Hampton Roads' water. If something contaminated the supply, it would affect more than a million people in the area, and another million in North Carolina over the next 10 years, studies have shown
.
This type of mining has been almost exclusively done in the more arid Western part of the country. Opponents say Virginia's heavy rainfall, low water table and intermittent hurricanes make any type of storage of leftover material from such a mine problematic.
The secretary of the commonwealth lists 17 lobbyists with five different firms working for Virginia Uranium. The company has donated $161,500 to more than 60 candidates and committees, three-quarters of them Republican-affiliated.
And, according to some reports, Virginia Uranium lobbyists have also started shopping an idea to have state agencies draft regulations that would essentially enable a pro-mining executive branch to bypass the General Assembly, and the moratorium.
Wales would not comment on the allegation, saying only that the company is concerned with getting the best regulations in place.
"How that happens is not up to us," he said.
Norfolk and Virginia Beach leaders said they have stepped up their efforts to fight the mine largely because the two cities - along with the naval facilities - rely on Lake Gaston as a water source.
Thomas Leahy, Virginia Beach's public utility director, said problems with such a mine may be obvious to local residents, but he fears that people from other parts of the state could feel differently.
"Unfortunately, we live in a state that supports tobacco farming and coal mining, so I'm not so sure some of our leaders in Richmond would see a big difference when it comes to uranium," he said.
The flyers show a girl drinking a glass of water, with the text above her reading, "There's no uranium in our drinking water. Let's keep it that way." The city has offered to let other area cities distribute the flyers as well.
This week, Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms also sent a letter to the city's legislative delegation, making sure they were aware of the Beach's continued opposition.
"I ask that you continue to support us on this issue," the letter says
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State Del. John Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake, was one of several lawmakers Virginia Uranium sent to France to tour a uranium mine. The goal was to allay their fears of the process.
Originally not opposed to the idea, Cosgrove said this week that he thinks the risks are too great to lift the moratorium.
"Even the smallest amount of contamination could ruin us," he said.
But Cosgrove said Norfolk and Virginia Beach were smart to continue their public stand against the project. "I have not heard of any real efforts to move forward with the mine, but I imagine people not affected could think it's OK," he said.
Clay Barbour, 757-446-2379, clay.barbour@pilotonline.com
Jillian Nolin, 757-446-2326,jillian.nolin@pilotonline.com
Read more:
http://hamptonroads.com/2012/11/legislative-battle-heating-over-va-uranium-mining
Great stories:
Related
- No Pittsylvania recommendation on uranium ban - Nov. 7
- Uranium mining focus of Southside Va. forum - Oct. 17
- Study: Uranium mining would benefit Va. county - Oct. 1
- Suffolk council OKs resolution against uranium mining - Sep. 6
- Norfolk council backs uranium mining moratorium - Jul. 25
- Uranium mining panel in Chatham draws criticism - Jun. 18
- Virginia Beach still opposed to uranium mining - Jun. 13
- State seeks proposals to study uranium mining - Feb. 28
- Uranium mining report finds risks, benefits for Virginia - Dec. 20, 2011
- Supporters, critics of uranium mining face off - Nov. 4, 2011
- Uranium-mining company disputes Va. Beach study - Aug. 24, 2011
- Panel weighs lifting ban on uranium mining in Virginia - Feb. 8, 2011
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