Chelsi Zash
Created: 3/14/2011 7:15:53 AM
Richmond, VA -- An environmental group is opposed to a company's proposal to end a 29-year Virginia ban on uranium mining.
The Danville-based Roanoke River Basin Association passed a resolution Saturday opposing the ban's lifting, citing a study that concluded mining operations could harm local water supplies.
The Roanoke River Basin covers parts of Guilford, Forsyth, Rockingham, Stokes and Caswell counties.
Virginia Uranium Inc. proposes to mine the deposit in Pittsylvania County, near the North Carolina border, and estimates its value at $7 billion to $10 billion. The mine is located in the center of the Roanoke River Basin.
About 350,000 North Carolina residents rely on the basin as their water supply, said Roanoke River Basin board member Greg Godard.
The region already supplies 65 million gallons a day to Virginia Beach.
Godard cited a study by the city of Virginia Beach that showed the mine could temporarily contaminate the city's water supply if a hurricane or tropical storm causes massive flooding.
The study found that Kerr Reservoir upstream of Lake Gaston would trap up to 90 percent of radioactive waste. But the remaining contaminants could enter the lake and that it could take up to two years to completely flush radioactive contaminants downstream.
The General Assembly would have to end the moratorium for mining to begin. The company has said it would push for legislation in 2012.
"If the ban is lifted, the Basin will be affected more than any other potential uranium mining sites in Virginia," said Gene Addesso, the Roanoke River Basin Association's vice president.
In October 2010, a 13-member study committee began a one-year study in October to determine the consequences of mining uranium. The $1.4 million study will examine the scientific, technical, environmental, human health and safety of uranium mining and processing.
WFMY News 2/AP
http://www.digtriad.com/news/local_state/article.aspx?storyid=166272
