Sunday, June 9, 2013

Will uranium be an issue in Tuesday's primary, do not vote for Bowman, He wants uranium Mining regulations

 
Mary Beth Jackson | Posted: Sunday, June 9, 2013 6:30 am 

Photo: Les Adams is running for the House of Delegates to provide principled, conservative leadership for the 16th District!

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While candidates in the race for Don Merricks’ seat in the House of Delegates both say they support the moratorium on uranium mining, their stances have a difference.

Merricks, who is retiring this year, also supported the ban. That was politically important because Coles Hill is in his district.

At a May 23 candidate forum at the Pittsylvania County General District Court, Bowman told the audience he would like to see regulations drafted for uranium mining, Bowman noted it would be several years before a mine could be established.

“ I’d like to see a regulatory framework,” Bowman said at the forum.

So would Virginia Uranium Inc., which wants to mine and mill an uranium ore deposit about six miles from Chatham.

Both candidates say they oppose lifting the state’s 1982 moratorium on uranium mining.

However, some uranium mining opponents appear to be endorsing Adams in Tuesday’s primary.
Bowman says he has never wavered and doesn’t understand why some do not trust his position.
“ I’ve told people I want to keep the ban in place,” he said. “I haven’t taken any other position other than keep the ban.”

Bowman visited Saskatchewan, Canada, in September 2011, on a three-day trip paid for by Virginia Uranium. According to public records, the company spent $120,000 sending legislators on trips that year.

In a memo to Bowman about two weeks before the trip, Pittsylvania County Administrator Dan Sleeper asked Bowman, then the county’s director of economic development, to report back on what he learned during the trip and make a presentation to the Board of Supervisors.

“ Since this is an economic development issue, and it is imperative that the Board of Supervisors receive input concerning these types of operations, I am requesting that you attend this meeting as a fact finding mission for the Office of Economic Development and bring a report back to the Board of Supervisors concerning the information that you’ve found and information and materials that may be presented by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and the Minister of Energy and National Resources,” Sleeper wrote in a memo.

The Danville Register & Bee sent a Freedom of Information request to the county seeking Bowman’s presentation and any materials presented after the trip. Pittsylvania County Attorney J. Vaden Hunt responded in a letter that the information was non-existent.

“ Said records will not and cannot be produced under your VA FOIA request, because the County currently has no records responsive to your request,” he wrote.

Jackson reports for the Danville Register & Bee. Staff writer John Crane contributed to this story.

http://www.newsadvance.com/go_dan_river/news/pittsylvania_county/article_08c17072-cfdb-11e2-9ab7-0019bb30f31a.html