There are many questions surrounding the safety and wisdom of uranium mining and processing in Virginia.
As two, state-commissioned studies go forward; the Virginia Conservation Network maintains its opposition to lifting the current ban on uranium mining, which has been in place since 1982.
The burden is on the studies to prove that it can and will be done safely under the conditions found in Virginia.
Of paramount concern is safeguarding water quality for downstream metropolitan areas such as Virginia Beach. Protecting the agricultural history and natural beauty of rural Virginia, is also a vital consideration.
If the ban is lifted and new regulations are in place, there will be pressure to mine sites throughout Virginia, including sites north of Charlottesville and west of Richmond.
There might also be pressure to mill uranium in Virginia, using ore that has been mined in states without milling regulations.
The pressure to lift the ban today is not driven by any major advances in safety or mining technology.
It is driven solely by a ten-fold rise in the price of uranium.
The techniques for mining and milling are virtually unchanged from the last time the state considered this issue, roughly thirty years ago.
Background
A ban on uranium mining and milling was imposed in the early 1980s, while Virginia officials were undertaking a study of uranium mining. That study was costly, time-consuming, and divisive.
It failed to consider several Virginia-specific questions, and that failure, as noted by dissenting study committee member Elizabeth Haskell, marred the study’s conclusions. The Commission made no recommendation on lifting the moratorium and the General Assembly and Governor did nothing to lift it.
In 2008, pressure to lift Virginia’s ban resurfaced, as the global price of uranium rose.
With leadership from VCN, the General Assembly rejected a bill that would have fast-tracked efforts to lift the moratorium.
Following that legislative action, the Virginia Commission on Coal and Energy decided to initiate new studies on uranium mining and milling. It appointed a Uranium Mining Subcommittee to work with Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research at Virginia Tech to negotiate a contract with the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences.
The purpose of the NRC study presumably is to determine whether uranium mining, milling, and waste disposal in Virginia can be undertaken in a manner that will safeguard the Commonwealth's environment, natural and historic resources, agricultural lands, and the health and well-being of its citizens.
The NRC held its first open sessions on October 26 and 27, 2010 and November 15 and 16 in Washington, D.C. Open sessions are scheduled for
December 13-15 in the Danville area, and February 2011 in Richmond. Other public sessions are scheduled for Denver and Saskatchewan in April and June. The NRC expects to have a pre-publication draft of its report completed by December 2011. This pre-publication draft would then be subjected to peer-review and circulated for public comment. A final report to the General Assembly would not be finished until December 2012.
In addition to the NRC report, the Uranium Mining Subcommittee is chartering a second, separate study on the socio-economic impacts of uranium operations. This study will consider, among many other factors, the costs to communities if there is a major environmental catastrophe linked to uranium mining or milling. The Subcommittee has requested proposals from third-party firms to conduct this study. Finally, two other independent studies are ongoing: one by the Danville Regional Foundation, and the other by the City of Virginia Beach, which is particularly concerned about the threat uranium mining would pose to drinking water supplies from Lake Gaston.
Recommendations
Neither the Coal and Energy Commission nor the General Assembly should consider legislation or recommendations to lift Virginia’s existing ban on mining and milling until all studies are finalized and the NRC peer-review process is complete.
Any bill introduced during the 2011 or 2012 sessions would be opposed, as that would be before the finalization of all relevant studies. In the meantime, both the NRC study and the proposed socio-economic study must be made available for adequate and thorough public review and comment, throughout the development of those studies.
Contacts
Todd Benson, Piedmont Environmental Council
540.347.2334
Cale Jaffe, Southern Environmental Law Center
434.977.4090
Resources
Uranium Mining Whitepaper
2011 Briefing Book
Archives
Read more:
http://www.vcnva.org/anx/index.cfm/1,258,1821,0,html
