There will be a lot going on in the next few weeks regarding the uranium issue. Please help collect stories and information to share with our elist so we can stay informed on what is occurring. The Wares and most of the guys on the uranium sub committee are just of miners who love to blow up VA Mountains for coal to be sent to China, uranium will be sent and they are ignoring Southside leaders and people, the only ones who want to mine are the ones who will profit. Keep the Ban! Make sure you come tomorrow!
It’s time to end the ban
Posted: Sunday, January 6, 2013 12:00 am | Updated: 5:42 pm, Sat Jan 5, 2013.
For the past two years it has been my privilege to chair the Coal and Energy Commission’s Uranium Study subcommittee. Today we conclude our deliberations on the proposal brought before us by Virginia Uranium Inc., which hopes to extract the large deposit of uranium ore on the Coles Hill property near Gretna in Pittsylvania County.
http://www.timesdispatch.com/opinion/their-opinion/it-s-time-to-end-the-ban/article_96bee7ba-31be-518a-b7be-a99baf1b7caa.html#user-comment-area
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| Sunday, January 6, 2013 By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - RICHMOND — The subject of years of study and passionate debate around Virginia — a proposal to mine uranium — is finally heading to the General Assembly in what is expected to be one of the fiercest environmental battles in recent memory.First stop is the legislature’s Coal and Energy Commission on Monday, when the panel of House and Senate members is expected to make a recommendation on proposed legislation to establish a state regulatory framework for uranium mining. The regulations must be in place before the state’s 1982 moratorium on uranium mining can be lifted.Del. Terry Kilgore, a Scott County Republican and chairman of the commission, said he supports the creation of regulations and stressed it does not amount to endorsement of uranium mining.“People want to feel some comfort level with the regulations to make sure they are protecting them,” he said.While the commission can’t end the debate on uranium on Monday, it could influence the outcome of the legislation in the 2013 session that starts Wednesday. “We can’t kill anything; we can’t pass anything,” said Del. Greg Habeeb, a Salem Republican and a member of the commission. He said he will support sending the regulatory legislation to the full General Assembly, and he expects a majority of the commission will agree. “I would think if we would give a negative vote, it would not bode well for the bill,” Habeeb said. A positive vote, he said, would just be the first of many steps — and it would be years before uranium could be mined. Sen. John C. Watkins, a Republican from Powhatan and vice chairman of the commission, supports uranium mining and has sponsored legislation that would lay out regulations governing mining that would need to be in place before the so-called Coles Hill deposit in Pittsylvania County could be tapped. At 119 million pounds, it is the largest known uranium deposit in the U.S. and one of the largest in the world. Watkins based his legislation on the work of the multi-agency Uranium Working Group created by Gov. Bob McDonnell. The group submitted its report to McDonnell in late November but did not recommend whether the ban should be lifted. Watkins said he has asked McDonnell a couple of times whether he has reached an opinion on uranium mining. The senator said it’s an important consideration as the issue moves to the Capitol. “It would be a vast expenditure of time, effort and resources to get legislation passed, then have him veto it or fail to sign it,” Watkins said of the governor, who has made energy development a cornerstone of his Republican administration. “It’s his working group that he asked to delve into this thing. I would expect he would endorse or not endorse the recommendations of that working group,” Watkins added. McDonnell, who has met privately with representatives on both sides of the issue, has said the overriding factor in his decision is whether uranium mining and milling “can be conducted with a high degree of public safety, and whether suitable assurances can be given that the air, water, health and well-being of citizens will be protected.” Spokesman J. Tucker Martin said McDonnell is still reviewing the matter. “At this time, the governor has not determined if he will make any recommendation on the issue,” Martin wrote in an email. Virginia Uranium Inc. revived interest in the Pittsylvania County deposit several years ago. Initial interest in the uranium discovery in the 1970s waned in the wake of the Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania. The General Assembly then put the ban in place until regulations were developed. The company says the uranium it would mine about 30 miles north of the North Carolina state line can be done safely using modern mining methods, would create hundreds of jobs in a depressed region and ease the nation’s reliance on uranium from other countries to fuel domestic nuclear power plants. More than 90 percent of the uranium used in U.S. nuclear power plants is from Canada and other sources abroad. Opponents, which include farm, religious, environmental and municipal groups, argue the environmental risks far outweigh any benefits. They are particularly concerned that tailings — the waste generated after the ore is mined — could foul water supplies for localities that include the state’s largest city, Virginia Beach. The city opposes uranium mining. Watkins’ legislation, which is still being drafted, would go to the Commerce and Labor committees in both chambers. The prospects of passage in the General Assembly are not known. Virginia Uranium has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars to be the first full-scale uranium mine operator on the East Coast, and many of those dollars have gone to the General Assembly, including members of the commission. Kilgore, Watson and Habeeb each was on the receiving end of some of the $161,500 in campaign contributions Virginia Uranium has made since 2011, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, which tracks money in politics. Habeeb acknowledged that such contributions can create a “perception issue,” but he added the stakes are too high to allow a political contribution to influence your vote. “Any elected official who changes or modifies or does anything based on a single contribution or a series of contributions in what is a very expensive game is just crazy,” he said. http://www.roanoke.com/ The uranium debate Watkins' legislation could be an initial step in a long process toward permitting Virginia Uranium to mine one of the nation's largest uranium deposits in rural Pittsylvania County. While proponents have touted the potential economic benefits, opponents have raised concerns about potential environmental and health hazards associated with mining waste, especially in the Roanoke River basin downstream from the proposed site. The two legislators who represent the site of the proposed mine — Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County, and Del. Don Merricks, R-Chatham — oppose lifting Virginia's 3-decades-old moratorium on uranium mining. The Virginia Commission on Coal and Energy, a legislative panel, will meet Monday and could decide whether to recommend a proposed regulatory framework for the industry. "It's probably the most important issue I've ever had to vote on," said Del. Onzlee Ware, D-Roanoke, a member of the commission's uranium mining subcommittee, who hasn't made up his mind about whether he would vote to lift the moratorium. "My position is that, until the bill gets filed, until the bill goes through the process, it's too important for me to just jump out now and say I'm for it or against it, because I want it to go through the process," Ware said in a recent interview. Del. Greg Habeeb, R-Salem, who also sits on the coal and energy commission, said state lawmakers must decide whether "we trust that we can put a regulatory system in place and do we trust the regulators to enforce the regulatory system so that it can be safely done." "I will vote 'yes' if I trust that we can put a regulatory framework in place and the federal government can maintain its regulatory framework so uranium mining is safe, and I'll vote 'no' if I don't believe those two things," Habeeb said. Here are emails for Coal and Energy Commission Members. I am hoping Sen. Smith is receiving his e-mails. There seems to be confusion on the website between Stanley and Smith. If you are unable to attend tomorrow you may want to send an email expressing your desire to continue the moratorium. Please be brief, concise and respectful if you choose to write. district10@senate.virginia.gov <district10@senate.virginia. This was sent yesterday: Honorable Members of the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission, Thank you for the time and effort you have put into researching the potential benefits and risks associated with uranium mining, milling and radioactive waste disposal. The reports and studies thus far have not and/or could not determine to what degree uranium mining will compromise Virginia's vast water resources, future diverse economic opportunities and tax dollars. The reports have exposed questions to which answers may not be possible. As you know, many municipalities, organizations, elected officials and individuals in the Commonwealth have expressed concerns and taken a very public stand on maintaining the current moratorium and to dispense with the writing of regulations for uranium mining in Virginia. According to reports and studies, their concerns appears warranted. I live in Pittsylvania County. The divisive nature of uranium mining is devastating our community. Any other community directly facing this issue will suffer the same effects. I was recently told that legislation may be written allow uranium mining only in my county. Certainly no one could be so heartless as to render a part of the Commonwealth as unworthy of the same opportunity for clean air, clean and abundant water, future diverse economic opportunities and "peace". I will be unable to attend the Coal and Energy Commission Meeting tomorrow, Jan. 7, 2013 at 12 p.m. However, I wanted you to know that I am in support of a continued moratorium and, if possible, constitutional amendment to permanently ban uranium mining in Virginia. I do not have email addresses for the Commission's citizen members and am in hopes that Mr. Farber or Mr. Meacham will deliver this message to them. Thank you for your service to Virginia and my prayers are with you for a productive 2013 session of the General Assembly. http://www.mining.com/pastors- A group of ministers and pastors from the African-American community in Roanoke, southwest Virginia, have lent their collective support to efforts to keep uranium mining banned throughout the state. WDBJ7 reports that the group made their stance on the issue public on Friday, calling for the statewide moratorium on uranium mining to be upheld as well as for the imposition of a permanent ban. 17 religious leaders from the southwest Virginia area signed a resolution which will be sent to the state capital of Richmond. The group believe uranium mining poses risks for the Africa-American community which far outweigh any economic benefits, citing a study conducted in South Carolina which found that African Americans could be more susceptible to uranium's carcinogenic effects. "Scientific research on groundwater uranium and cancer incidence in South Carolina found that African Americans may be more likely than European Americans to develop cancer as a result of consuming groundwater containing high levels of dissolved uranium," said Roanoke City Councilman and minister Sherman Lea. Please note in the article below...The supervisors “talked a little bit, but decided not to take a formal stand because it really it doesn't touch us” and is in Pittsylvania County, he said. WRONG. Historic Marline leases were held in Henry County in the 1980s. Exploration could occur there if the moratorium is lifted. And, Bryant also said he thinks supervisors may be “waiting on Pittsylvania County to make a decision on it. And when will hell freeze over???
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