Second of two parts
DANVILLE, Va. -- The potential contaminants from any uranium mining in the Roanoke River basin in Virginia could have effects far downstream as the river flows on to the N.C. coast.
The Roanoke River, flowing more than 400 miles from Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains to North Carolina’s Outer Banks, provides water to more than one million people for drinking, farming, fishing and boating. It is the backbone of southern Virginia’s agriculture sector, valued at more than $300 million in 2007, and boasts world-class striped bass fishing, drawing thousands of anglers each year.
Described as “one of the Mid-Atlantic’s most biologically diverse rivers” by the conservation group American Rivers, the Roanoke was also named one of the country’s Most Endangered Rivers in 2011 by the same organization. Citing the proposal to mine uranium on Coles Hill near Danbury, American Rivers concluded that the river’s assets “could be irreversibly damaged by the toxic run-off” of the proposed uranium mining.
The life and legacy of this prized river is in jeopardy, said Pete Raabe of American
Rivers. “This uranium operation would generate millions of tons of toxic, cancer-causing waste,” he said.
Recently, Mike Pucci, a Lake Gaston resident, created the North Carolina Coalition Against Uranium Mining. The lake is one in a chain of reservoirs along the river. The group’s goal, said Pucci, is to “wake up” the public in North Carolina to the potential impacts of uranium mining and processing far up the river.
While he notes that the debate is centered in Virginia, Pucci argues that “there’s no benefit to North Carolina, there’s only risk.” Fourteen local governments and organizations in North Carolina have passed resolution opposing lifting the ban on mining, according to the coalition web site.
Like many opponents, the coalition expresses concern over the potential effects a major accident failure could have for hundreds of years on natural resources and a valued water supply.
Virginia Beach has the same fears. Lake Gaston, which straddled the North Carolina-Virginia border, is the city’s main source for drinking water. Virginia Beach has been the most vocal local government in opposition to the state lifting its existing ban on uranium mining.
A “catastrophic failure” of a tailings disposal site would contaminate the drinking water supply coming from the lake and the river, said Thomas M. Leahy, the city’s director of Public Utilities.The city has done “worst case modeling,” he said, that establishes the likelihood of contamination with “reasonable certainty,” leading to radioactivity levels in the water anywhere from five to fifty times greater than that permitted by current federal law.
Read more:
http://www.nccoast.org/Article.aspx?k=8a5ffb20-00cc-4059-a065-70080a860b10
