Poll
Do you support or oppose Gov.-elect Terry McAuliffe's pledge to veto any legislation to facilitate uranium mining in Virginia?
Click here to vote: http://hamptonroads.com/2013/11/mcauliffe-says-hed-veto-bill-allow-uranium-mining- Disclaimer: This is an unscientific sampling of users.
By Bill Sizemore
The Virginian-Pilot
NORFOLK
Gov.-elect Terry McAuliffe said today he would veto any legislation to facilitate uranium mining in Virginia.
The issue has resonance in Hampton Roads, which draws drinking water from Lake Gaston, downstream from a rich uranium deposit in Pittsylvania County. Mining interests have been trying for years to get a 31-year-old moratorium lifted so the ore can be mined.
Speaking with reporters after a Veterans Day event at Nauticus, McAuliffe said he would veto any bill either to lift the moratorium or to establish a regulatory framework for mining.
“I don’t support uranium mining,” he said. “First and foremost as governor, my job is to make sure that our communities and our citizenry are safe. I’m not comfortable with the science to the point that I can say that with uranium mining, we would be safe. I’m afraid it would get into the drinking water.”
Moreover, McAuliffe said, he sees no point in developing regulations for mining: “Why would we be wasting our time and resources drafting regulations if we’re not going to lift the moratorium?”
McAuliffe, a Democrat, takes office in January
http://hamptonroads.com/2013/11/mcauliffe-says-hed-veto-bill-allow-uranium-mining
