Wednesday, April 27, 2011 9:13 AM EDT
The attached article, published in the Fredericksburg paper 27 years ago, should be a wake-up call to the citizens of Pittsylvania County.
Not only does it disclose the perception of the citizens of Pittsylvania County as being clueless, and the citizens of Northern Virginia as being smart. It also gives some of the back-story to the political maneuverings then that we are seeing all over again.
Walter Coles has made this county and its citizens guinea pigs, but if the ban is lifted, there will be oinking all over Virginia.
Barbara Hudson
Chatham, VA
The Article: Uranium tactics in Virginia
By Larry Evans
Staff Reporter
The game plan for getting the uranium industry established in Virginia is becoming increasingly clear: Focus on Pittsylvania County in the extreme southern part of the state and then, once mining and milling are under way there, let the industry move into other localities.
The industry has given every indication it wants it that way.
And to the legislative front, that is likely to be the approach, according to an influential state senator involved in the effort to get uranium legislation put before the 1985 Virginia General Assembly.
Sen. Nolen, a Democrat from Augusta County, said this week he expects any authorizing legislation to focus solely on Pittsylvania.
That initially would keep the industry from operating in the Rappahannock River basin counties of Fauquier, Culpeper, Orange and Madison, where exploration by the Marline Uranium Corp. in the late 1970s and early 1980s stirred up considerable citizen opposition before the company decided to pull out and concentrate on a deposit of uranium ore it says it has found in Pittsylvania.
It would be harder to get the Legislature to authorize the industry to operate on a statewide basis, Nolen acknowledged during a brief interview with this reporter following a meeting of the 18-member Uranium Administrative Group, which will be making a legislative recommendation in the fall.
Nolen is the only state senator on the study panel, which also consists of citizens, state officials and two members of the House of Delegates.
Nolen said focusing only on Pittsylvania would not be an attempt to silence uranium industry opponents in the Rappahannock basin, who contend that radioactivity and heavy metals in uranium ore could pollute water and air if the industry is allowed to mine, mill and bury wastes. He expects those people to continue to speak out.
"Being realistic, the people up there are very smart people and they know that if (the industry) is going to be allowed to do the work in Pittsylvania, then their area of the state might be next," said Nolen.
"It's like the old proverb about it just being the camel's nose under the tent."
"We're not talking about making guinea pigs out of the people in Pittsylvania," said Nolen, adding that he thinks the uranium issue will have been thoroughly studied by state officials and there will be strong regulatory standards in effect before the state allows mining, milling and waste disposal to begin.
Nolen said legislation should contain a provision that would enable state officials to stop a uranium operation "any time there is a trend toward exceeding standards."
In a move that pleased environmentalists, the UAG decided during the meeting that a task force studying the issue should consider developing statewide standards rather than site-specific standards for Pittsylvania.
Richard N. Burton, who is executive director of the State Water Control Board and chairman of the task force, requested that the UAG direct the task force to take that approach.
Del. J. Paul Councill Jr., chairman of the UAG, had said he first wanted to get an opinion from the attorney general as to whether the Legislature could authorize the industry to operate only in Pittsylvania.
When Burton persisted, the UAG voted to direct the task force to take the broader approach.
Councill then said he still intends to ask the attorney general if legislation can limit the industry to Pittsylvania.
Nolen and Del. Alson H. Smith Jr., a Winchester Democrat, said they foresee no problem if the Legislature wants to specify that the industry can operate only in Pittsylvania .
Councill said he wants to avoid any time-consuming effort that would keep the task force from meeting on Oct. 1 deadline for delivering a final report to the UAG.
"For God's sake, don't drag your heels," said Councill.
Burton said the deadline would be met.
Opponents have questioned why the state government has to make what they consider to be a speedy decision on the uranium question at a time when there is a glut in the domestic uranium supply.
Marline officials have said they have spent more than $30 million trying to establish the industry in Virginia and its stockholders are getting anxious for the state to make a decision.
Read more:
http://www.wpcva.com/articles/2011/04/27/chatham/opinion/opinion10.txt
The attached article, published in the Fredericksburg paper 27 years ago, should be a wake-up call to the citizens of Pittsylvania County.
Not only does it disclose the perception of the citizens of Pittsylvania County as being clueless, and the citizens of Northern Virginia as being smart. It also gives some of the back-story to the political maneuverings then that we are seeing all over again.
Walter Coles has made this county and its citizens guinea pigs, but if the ban is lifted, there will be oinking all over Virginia.
Barbara Hudson
Chatham, VA
The Article: Uranium tactics in Virginia
By Larry Evans
Staff Reporter
The game plan for getting the uranium industry established in Virginia is becoming increasingly clear: Focus on Pittsylvania County in the extreme southern part of the state and then, once mining and milling are under way there, let the industry move into other localities.
The industry has given every indication it wants it that way.
And to the legislative front, that is likely to be the approach, according to an influential state senator involved in the effort to get uranium legislation put before the 1985 Virginia General Assembly.
Sen. Nolen, a Democrat from Augusta County, said this week he expects any authorizing legislation to focus solely on Pittsylvania.
That initially would keep the industry from operating in the Rappahannock River basin counties of Fauquier, Culpeper, Orange and Madison, where exploration by the Marline Uranium Corp. in the late 1970s and early 1980s stirred up considerable citizen opposition before the company decided to pull out and concentrate on a deposit of uranium ore it says it has found in Pittsylvania.
It would be harder to get the Legislature to authorize the industry to operate on a statewide basis, Nolen acknowledged during a brief interview with this reporter following a meeting of the 18-member Uranium Administrative Group, which will be making a legislative recommendation in the fall.
Nolen is the only state senator on the study panel, which also consists of citizens, state officials and two members of the House of Delegates.
Nolen said focusing only on Pittsylvania would not be an attempt to silence uranium industry opponents in the Rappahannock basin, who contend that radioactivity and heavy metals in uranium ore could pollute water and air if the industry is allowed to mine, mill and bury wastes. He expects those people to continue to speak out.
"Being realistic, the people up there are very smart people and they know that if (the industry) is going to be allowed to do the work in Pittsylvania, then their area of the state might be next," said Nolen.
"It's like the old proverb about it just being the camel's nose under the tent."
"We're not talking about making guinea pigs out of the people in Pittsylvania," said Nolen, adding that he thinks the uranium issue will have been thoroughly studied by state officials and there will be strong regulatory standards in effect before the state allows mining, milling and waste disposal to begin.
Nolen said legislation should contain a provision that would enable state officials to stop a uranium operation "any time there is a trend toward exceeding standards."
In a move that pleased environmentalists, the UAG decided during the meeting that a task force studying the issue should consider developing statewide standards rather than site-specific standards for Pittsylvania.
Richard N. Burton, who is executive director of the State Water Control Board and chairman of the task force, requested that the UAG direct the task force to take that approach.
Del. J. Paul Councill Jr., chairman of the UAG, had said he first wanted to get an opinion from the attorney general as to whether the Legislature could authorize the industry to operate only in Pittsylvania.
When Burton persisted, the UAG voted to direct the task force to take the broader approach.
Councill then said he still intends to ask the attorney general if legislation can limit the industry to Pittsylvania.
Nolen and Del. Alson H. Smith Jr., a Winchester Democrat, said they foresee no problem if the Legislature wants to specify that the industry can operate only in Pittsylvania .
Councill said he wants to avoid any time-consuming effort that would keep the task force from meeting on Oct. 1 deadline for delivering a final report to the UAG.
"For God's sake, don't drag your heels," said Councill.
Burton said the deadline would be met.
Opponents have questioned why the state government has to make what they consider to be a speedy decision on the uranium question at a time when there is a glut in the domestic uranium supply.
Marline officials have said they have spent more than $30 million trying to establish the industry in Virginia and its stockholders are getting anxious for the state to make a decision.
Read more:
http://www.wpcva.com/articles/2011/04/27/chatham/opinion/opinion10.txt
