Richmond Times Dispatch – September 12, 2012
Virginia politicians are better at doing some things than others. One thing they do especially well is doing nothing. And that’s probably what they’ll do on uranium mining.
Perhaps the most predictable argument for preserving the state’s ban on mining is environmental. Increasingly, opponents are challenging the supposed economic benefits. But it is politics that is scaring the governor and legislators into inaction on a proposed mine in Pittsylvania County.
Over the past few months, under the guidance of the McDonnell administration, officials have tried to figure out what rules Virginia would have to write, how much money taxpayers would have to spend and what safeguards would be required if the state lifted its 30-year prohibition on mining and milling of uranium, a radioactive ore used to make fuel for nuclear power plants.
To opponents, this is an excuse to repeal the moratorium. To supporters, it’s a practicality. Both sides are correct. They might agree on something else:
That the roiling emotion of this issue and the approaching elections are an excuse to put off a decision until at least 2014.
Here’s why:
Gov. Bob McDonnell isn’t sticking out his neck; so why should legislators? In laying out the current study, the administration signaled that it would make a recommendation to the General Assembly next year on scrapping the ban. But in short order, the governor’s office retreated, leading some to wonder if McDonnell, too, is frightened by the issue.
Running in 2009, McDonnell declared energy a centerpiece of his campaign.
He espoused drilling for oil and gas in Virginia coastal waters as a cash-gusher for schools and roads. But Barack Obama got in his way.
Uranium mining is a different kettle of piranhas.
While the federal government oversees the processing of uranium and disposal of wastes, or tailings, the state government is responsible for licensing mines. That means this is on McDonnell’s head. Given the anxiety associated with the project and the regions in which it is abundant, it would seem a no-brainer for McDonnell to punt in 2013, when Virginians choose his successor.
Southside also is a source of drinking water for South Hampton Roads, a boom suburb about 200 miles east, where McDonnell is the local boy made good. It would be bad — for him, for his party — if the vote-rich area thought otherwise.
McDonnell’s fear is rooted in, among other things, the shared fear of Southside and South Hampton Roads that a mine at picturesque Coles Hill endangers the water supply of millions.
Lawmakers from both regions, especially delegates facing re-election next year, are either dead set against the mine or deadly silent.
The city of Chesapeake this week is expected to join Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Suffolk in opposing uranium mining. This may not get the attention of local legislators, many of whom are Republicans and tend to tut-tut environmental concerns. But the worries of Greens are being spun as a threat to a different kind of green: cash generated by tourism, the military and global shipping.
The Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, perhaps by next month, could come out against mining as an economic peril, making it a lot easier for self-styled pro-business Republicans to just say no to Coles Hill — at least until after the 2013 election.
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2012/sep/12/tdmet01-schapiro-politics-promotes-inaction-on-ura-ar-2197996/
Perhaps the most predictable argument for preserving the state’s ban on mining is environmental. Increasingly, opponents are challenging the supposed economic benefits. But it is politics that is scaring the governor and legislators into inaction on a proposed mine in Pittsylvania County.
Over the past few months, under the guidance of the McDonnell administration, officials have tried to figure out what rules Virginia would have to write, how much money taxpayers would have to spend and what safeguards would be required if the state lifted its 30-year prohibition on mining and milling of uranium, a radioactive ore used to make fuel for nuclear power plants.
To opponents, this is an excuse to repeal the moratorium. To supporters, it’s a practicality. Both sides are correct. They might agree on something else:
That the roiling emotion of this issue and the approaching elections are an excuse to put off a decision until at least 2014.
Here’s why:
Gov. Bob McDonnell isn’t sticking out his neck; so why should legislators? In laying out the current study, the administration signaled that it would make a recommendation to the General Assembly next year on scrapping the ban. But in short order, the governor’s office retreated, leading some to wonder if McDonnell, too, is frightened by the issue.
Running in 2009, McDonnell declared energy a centerpiece of his campaign.
He espoused drilling for oil and gas in Virginia coastal waters as a cash-gusher for schools and roads. But Barack Obama got in his way.
Uranium mining is a different kettle of piranhas.
While the federal government oversees the processing of uranium and disposal of wastes, or tailings, the state government is responsible for licensing mines. That means this is on McDonnell’s head. Given the anxiety associated with the project and the regions in which it is abundant, it would seem a no-brainer for McDonnell to punt in 2013, when Virginians choose his successor.
Southside also is a source of drinking water for South Hampton Roads, a boom suburb about 200 miles east, where McDonnell is the local boy made good. It would be bad — for him, for his party — if the vote-rich area thought otherwise.
McDonnell’s fear is rooted in, among other things, the shared fear of Southside and South Hampton Roads that a mine at picturesque Coles Hill endangers the water supply of millions.
Lawmakers from both regions, especially delegates facing re-election next year, are either dead set against the mine or deadly silent.
The city of Chesapeake this week is expected to join Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Suffolk in opposing uranium mining. This may not get the attention of local legislators, many of whom are Republicans and tend to tut-tut environmental concerns. But the worries of Greens are being spun as a threat to a different kind of green: cash generated by tourism, the military and global shipping.
The Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, perhaps by next month, could come out against mining as an economic peril, making it a lot easier for self-styled pro-business Republicans to just say no to Coles Hill — at least until after the 2013 election.
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2012/sep/12/tdmet01-schapiro-politics-promotes-inaction-on-ura-ar-2197996/