Sneaky Virginia Uranium Working Group, keeping things in the dark!
Comments: So the so call Gov's Uranium Working Group release info on Memorial Day, a sneaky bunch, remember the $500,000 is taxpayers monies while the Gov of VA slashes monies from our schools, women and children healthcare, a sly devil: "To help with the study, the state hired Wright Environmental Management at a cost of about $500,000, according to Matt Conrad, the governor’s deputy chief of staff. The state has had discussions with a second consultant but has not finalized a contract."
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But some critics complain that the study, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year, is being conducted behind closed doors with little input from the public.
McDonnell created a multi-agency group — composed of staff from the state’s Department of Health, Department of Environmental Quality and Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy — charged with studying the site and drafting regulations.
To help with the study, the state hired Wright Environmental Management at a cost of about $500,000, according to Matt Conrad, the governor’s deputy chief of staff. The state has had discussions with a second consultant but has not finalized a contract.
Groups concerned about health and safety are questioning why the state is looking into how regulations might be written and hiring costly consultants when legislators have yet to act. They also say a uranium mine could contaminate natural resources, cause illness, and have long-term effects on plants and animals.
“Virginia Uranium did not have votes in the General Assembly this year, so in our opinion the governor came to the rescue,” said Glen Besa, director of the Sierra Club’s Virginia chapter. “The outcome is already known.”
In a letter to the administration this year, the Piedmont Environmental Council, the Virginia League of Conservation Voters and the Sierra Club criticized the process.
“This action . . . has the unfortunate effect of taking the process away from the commonwealth’s elected representatives and placing it behind closed doors,” they wrote. “In particular, we are troubled by the possibility of little public involvement in this critical process.”
McDonnell spokeswoman Taylor Thornley said that state officials are merely studying the issue and that no regulations would be adopted while the moratorium is in place.
“What we are providing the General Assembly is information they would want to consider if they choose to lift the moratorium, such as whether there are gaps that need filling in existing programs or agencies so as to ensure that uranium can be mined and milled safely in Virginia,” she said.
The state’s working group will accept public comments during four open meetings — in June, August, October and November — and on a Web site.
After criticism, McDonnell’s administration held a meeting with environmental groups to provide “complete and accurate information” on uranium mining regulations. The media were invited to observe but were told by McDonnell’s office that there was no time for interviews.
McDonnell’s chief of staff, Martin Kent, said in a letter to legislators that people had misunderstood the process.
“We have developed a detailed work plan that ensures that important level of openness and transparency,” he wrote.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/as-virginia-looks-at-whether-uranium-can-be-mined-safely-critics-voice-concern/2012/05/28/gJQAGFLSxU_story.html
