For 30 years, a moratorium on the mining and milling of uranium has protected Virginians’ health, livelihoods and property. Now, however, a deep-pocketed corporation is asking the General Assembly to change that law. The company has spent more than $1 million on studies and lobbyists, promising it’s investors a bill in 2012.
Virginia Conservation Network and our partners in the Keep the Ban coalition have done our homework on mining, and what we’ve learned isn’t pretty. So now we’re asking the hard questions of the industry and state lawmakers:
On Nov. 3, you have the chance to ask hard questions of experts in the field. Attend the Garden Club of Virginia’s Conservation Forum: “Uranium: What Should Virginia Do?” The forum runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the University of Richmond Jepson Alumni Center. A $40 admission ($25 students) includes lunch. When you register, you will have the chance to pose a question for the panelists. Registration closes on Oct. 30, so sign up today!
P.S. – If you can’t make it to Richmond on Nov. 3, you can still learn more about this complicated and very important issue. Visit www.keeptheban.org and tune in to WVTF at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 25 for a special “Evening Edition,” featuring Keep the Ban-member Chris Miller of Piedmont Environmental Council and mining proponent Patrick Wales of Virginia Uranium, Inc.
Virginia Conservation Network and our partners in the Keep the Ban coalition have done our homework on mining, and what we’ve learned isn’t pretty. So now we’re asking the hard questions of the industry and state lawmakers:
- Where will the company store the tons of toxic waste during mining?
- How can we be certain that a major storm won’t wash the toxic waste into the Roanoke River?
- Are Virginia’s under-funded natural resource agencies really capable of regulating this industry?
- Who will pay to clean up the site if there is an accident? Who will compensate those living downstream?
- What effect will a mine have on agriculture, tourism and property values?
- We know there is a deposit in Pittsylvania County, but where else might there be mining if the ban is lifted?
On Nov. 3, you have the chance to ask hard questions of experts in the field. Attend the Garden Club of Virginia’s Conservation Forum: “Uranium: What Should Virginia Do?” The forum runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the University of Richmond Jepson Alumni Center. A $40 admission ($25 students) includes lunch. When you register, you will have the chance to pose a question for the panelists. Registration closes on Oct. 30, so sign up today!
P.S. – If you can’t make it to Richmond on Nov. 3, you can still learn more about this complicated and very important issue. Visit www.keeptheban.org and tune in to WVTF at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 25 for a special “Evening Edition,” featuring Keep the Ban-member Chris Miller of Piedmont Environmental Council and mining proponent Patrick Wales of Virginia Uranium, Inc.
