By: John Crane | GoDanRiver
Published: May 07, 2012 Updated: May 07, 2012 - 7:08 PM
The proposal to mine and mill uranium at Coles Hill has landed a section of Pittsylvania County on a preservation group’s 2012 list of the 11 most endangered historic sites in the state.
Preservation Virginia has declared Whitehorn-Banister Rural Historic Landscape in northeastern Pittsylvania County as under threat from Virginia Uranium Inc.’s plans to mine and mill a 119 million pound uranium ore deposit at Coles Hill, six miles northeast of Chatham.
However, Patrick Wales, geologist and project manager with VUI, said the company has invested its money in preserving historic properties it owns in the county.
“We have been committed to historic preservation,” Wales said Monday. Had it not been for VUI, many of the sites and structures would still be in disrepair, Wales added.
During a news conference held Monday morning along Markham Road in the historic Whitehorn-Banister area, Preservation Virginia field representative Sonja Ingram said uranium mining and milling would bring heavy trucks, noise and dust, spoiling the area’s rural character. The Coles Hill Project would also contaminate the water supply, hurt real estate values and hamper promotion of heritage tourism, Ingram said.
“The impending threat to the region arises from the construction and operation of a uranium mine and mill proposed at Coles Hill, within the historic landscape,” Preservation Virginia stated in the list. “In addition to the loss of its characteristic rural qualities, this development could lead to groundwater contamination, noise pollution and real estate value loss and hinder future heritage tourism initiatives.”
“If the mining and milling process are allowed to take place, many acres of this historic landscape will be spoiled and its historic context disrupted,” the organization stated in the list.
Karen Maute, president of Piedmont Residents in Defense of the Environment (PRIDE), said during the conference that the Whitehorn-Banister area is like a microcosm of what would happen to the rest of the Dan River Region if uranium mining and milling is allowed at Coles Hill.
Virginia has had a moratorium on uranium mining and milling since 1982.
VUI has owned historic structures in Southside Virginia. The properties include Cedar Hill, Col. East’s home, Coles Hill, Coles Hill Schoolhouse, Frith House, Womack Rock House, Womack second residence and Womack Manor, Wales said.
In its list, Preservation Virginia recommends that the consequences of the Coles Hill Project on heritage tourism and impact on the local economy be considered.
The group also recommends federal review under section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act to “help document and mitigate the damage to these historic resources.”
“We understand that it may not be required under the licensing of this mining and milling operation.
Wales said VUI would be subject to federal laws and that an assessment of historic properties is a component of the environmental impact statement the company will have to complete. The EIS requires a full cataloguing of historic sites and the licensing process incorporates those sites into the design , Wales said.
Ann Rogers, community organizer for the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (BREDL), said she wrote the nomination letter for the area and the organization submitted it to Preservation Virginia.
PRIDE is a chapter of BREDL, which is based in Glendale Springs, N.C.
“The area is just exceptional for the number of historic properties and absence of more recent development,” Rogers said of the Whitehorn-Banister area.
BREDL was honored to have the nomination accepted by Preservation Virginia, Rogers said.
http://www2.wsls.com/news/2012/may/07/grenta-area-lands-endangered-historic-sites-list-ar-1896928/
