Patrick Henry quotes: The liberties of a people never were,
nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed
from them.
Call the Governor. Ask him to turn down the request to order the state agencies to create uranium mining and to veto the Nuclear Energy Consortium bill because of it lacking public transparency.
Gov. McDonnell
Office: (804) 786-2211
Fax: (804) 371-6351
TTY/TDD (For the deaf or hard-of-hearing):
1-800-828-1120, or 711
Comments from KM:
There is grave concern and great confusion surrounding legislation promoting a Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium Authority (VNECA). The bills promoting this have made "cross-over" and have real problems.
Our message was clear and not ambiguous. We read the reports, attended meetings, asked question of the experts and received answers. Armed with the FACTS we, as citizens, successfully made the case for keeping the ban. Now, there appears to be yet another attempt to circumvent the process and push a pro-uranium mining agenda to benefit one corporation.
I fear we've been hood-winked...by the VA uranium bunch with some legislators acting as accomplice.
All I know to say at this point is stay informed, call your legislator and the Governor to say the bills that would have lifted the moratorium were withdrawn because" science" supports maintaining the ban. There is no support for ruining Virginia (and NC's) water quality/quantity, human health and future diverse economic development. Kill any bill that might try to do so.
It is unbelievable that we under attack by a single corporation whose power may be allowed to supersede individual rights in the Commonwealth. Harder still to believe that some elected officials are accomplices to Virginia uranium company!
Please read items below:
Dear Virginia Legislators:
Attached please read a comparison between HB1790, the creation of the
Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium Authority (VNECA), and HB389 the
creation of the Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority(VOWDA).
The Authorities are not the same as suggested by Governor McDonnell's
spokesman, Paul Logan. What's more, Senator McWaters has stated that
the VNECA could get uranium mining regulations written while Mr. Logan
claims that VNECA has nothing to do with uranium mining. There is a
direct contradiction, and eventually the truth will emerge.
Which side of the truth do you plan to be on? We hope that you will
make the prudent choice and oppose HB1790 which would give undo powers
to VNECA, including the power to put into place uranium mining
regulations.
Sincerely,
Deborah Ferruccio
North Carolina Citizen Against the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium
Authority and Uranium Mining
Attached please read a comparison between HB1790, the creation of the
Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium Authority (VNECA), and HB389 the
creation of the Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority(VOWDA).
The Authorities are not the same as suggested by Governor McDonnell's
spokesman, Paul Logan. What's more, Senator McWaters has stated that
the VNECA could get uranium mining regulations written while Mr. Logan
claims that VNECA has nothing to do with uranium mining. There is a
direct contradiction, and eventually the truth will emerge.
Which side of the truth do you plan to be on? We hope that you will
make the prudent choice and oppose HB1790 which would give undo powers
to VNECA, including the power to put into place uranium mining
regulations.
Sincerely,
Deborah Ferruccio
North Carolina Citizen Against the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium
Authority and Uranium Mining
Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium Authority &
Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority: A Comparison
By: Deborah Ferruccio, North Carolina Citizen Against Uranium Mining and the VNECA
Recently, Senator John Watkins withdrew from committee his bill to lift the ban on uranium mining then revealed Plan B which was to ask Governor Bob McDonnell to use his executive authority under the Administration Process Act to have state agencies write regulations that would continue the process to legalize uranium mining in Virginia. The Governor, so far, has not made public his decision on whether or not to use these executive powers, especially since public sentiment is overwhelmingly against uranium mining.
Instead, the answer for pushing uranium mining forward may lie in Plan C: the creation of the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium Authority (VNECA), Senate Bill 1138, which has already passed the Senate and has gone to the House of Representatives for a vote. According to a spokesman for Governor McDonnell, Paul Logan, VNECA ”has nothing to do with mining.”
Yet when the SB1138 was introduced in committee by the sponsor of the bill, Senator McWaters, and Virginia resident Barry Carter asked if uranium mining regulations could be drafted by VNECA, Senator McWaters replied, “So what if they do develop the regulations with the Consortium. We will still have to come back [to the legislature] to get the ban lifted.”
There is a clear contradiction here between the Governor’s spokesman’s statement that the VNECA“has nothing to do with mining” and Senator Watkins’ remark that the VNECA could develop uranium mining regulations. Either the Governor’s spokesperson, Mr. Logan, is lying, or Senator McWaters is lying.
The goal of the VNECA is to promote nuclear energy and related industries, but which related industries might this include --- uranium mining and “temporary” and long-term nuclear waste disposal? Since the goals of the VNECA are described in broad, general terms, the activities of the VNECA are not specifically stated. What’s more, much of the Nuclear Energy Consortium would not be transparent or subject to public oversight.
According to the Daily Progress, the VNECA “would be exempted from a whole raft of laws that are designed to protect the public — the Freedom of Information Act, as well as provisions of the State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act, Investment of Public Funds Act, Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act, Public Procurement Act.”
Also, when questioned about the purpose and powers of the VNEC, Governor McDonnell’s spokesman, Paul Logan said that the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium Authority is comparable to the Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority (VOWDA), but upon analysis of the bills that describe both Authorities, there are critical and far-reaching differences.
The following excerpts are taken from the Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority HB389 which is more specific in the tasks with which it is charged than the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium Authority HB1790. Membership of the Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority would be 1. “composed of 11 nonlegislative citizen members” who would 2. “serve without compensation,” 3. who would be “subject to the standards of conduct set forth in the State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act” and 4. to the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. 5. In addition, information gathered would be also subject to provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
Clearly, the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium Authority is unlike the Offshore Wind Development Authority and would not be transparent. There would be no guaranteed public oversight, and conflicts of interest would be inherent in the membership. Such an Authority would expedite an undemocratically determined promotion of nuclear energy that could prove disastrous to the state and its neighbors. Consequently, it is not in the best interests of the state of Virginia for legislators to pass the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium Authority, and the bill should be withdrawn from a final vote in both houses of the Virginia Legislature.
Excerpts from the Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority Bill HB389
The Authority [Offshore Wind Development Authority] is charged with, among other tasks, (i) identifying existing state and regulatory or administrative barriers to the development of the offshore wind industry, (ii) collecting metocean and environmental data, (iii) upgrading port facilities to accommodate the manufacturing and assembly of project components and vessels that will support such projects, and (iv) applying to the U.S. Department of Energy for loan guarantees for such projects. SB 577 is identical.
A. The Authority shall be composed of 11 nonlegislative citizen members appointed by the Governor. Of these, three members shall be appointed by the Governor from a list of nine persons provided by the Secretary of the Navy or his designee and one member shall be a representative of the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority. With the exception of the three members appointed from the list provided by the Secretary of the Navy or his designee and the representative of the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, all members of the Authority shall reside in the Commonwealth.
B. E. Members shall serve without compensation. However, all members may be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as provided in §§ 2.2-2813 and 2.2-2825. Such expenses shall be paid from such funds as may be appropriated to the Authority by the General Assembly.
C. F. Members of the Authority shall be subject to the standards of conduct set forth in the State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act (§ 2.2-3100 et seq.) and may be removed from office for misfeasance, malfeasance, nonfeasance, neglect of duty, or misconduct in the manner set forth therein.
D. D. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, members of the Authority shall be subject to the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.)
10. Do any lawful act necessary or appropriate to carry out the powers herein granted or reasonably implied;
partnership established pursuant to this subsection shall stipulate that:
1. The Authority and the developer shall share the costs of data collection;
2. The developer, in coordination with the Authority and relevant state and federal agencies, shall manage the environmental data collection process; and
3. The developer shall make all collected data available to the Authority.
D. The Authority may make any data collected pursuant to this section available to the public.
A. The Director of the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy shall serve as Director of the Authorityand shall administer the affairs and business of the Authority in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and subject to the policies, control, and direction of the Authority. The Director shall maintain, and be custodian of, all books, documents, and papers of or filed with the Authority. The Director may cause copies to be made of all minutes and other records and documents of the Authority and may give certificates under seal of the Authority to the effect that such copies are true copies, and all persons dealing with the Authority may rely on such certificates. The Director also shall perform such other duties as prescribed by the Authority in carrying out the purposes of this chapter.
A. The Authority shall hold in confidence the personal and financial information supplied to it, or maintained by it, concerning the siting and development of offshore wind energy projects.
B. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the Authority, in its discretion, from releasing any information that has been transformed into a statistical or aggregate form that does not allow the identification of the person who supplied particular information.
C. Information supplied by or maintained on persons or entities applying for or receiving allocations of federal loan guarantees, as well as specific information relating to the amount and identity of recipients of such distributions, shall be subject to disclosure in accordance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.).
Call the Governor. Ask him to turn down the request to order the state agencies to create uranium mining and to veto the Nuclear Energy Consortium bill because of it lacking public transparency.
Gov. McDonnell
Office: (804) 786-2211
Fax: (804) 371-6351
TTY/TDD (For the deaf or hard-of-hearing):
1-800-828-1120, or 711
"According to the Department of Planning and Budget it would cost tax payers $4 million for the first year of developing uranium mining regulations for an industry that is not economically viable in Virginia." Freeda Cathcart
From the NAS report from the Best Practices Chapter pg. 211:
"Meaningful and timely public participation should occur throughout the life cycle of a project, so that the public is both informed about - and can commetn upon - any decisions made that could impact their community. All stages of permitting should be transparent, with independent advisory reviews."
In regard to Sen. Jeff McWaters, R-Virginia Beach, and its supporters say that private entities such as investors won’t join the consortium if information is public.
"Virginia doesn't need investors who won't join the consortium if the information is made public. VUI has already cost our state millions of dollars and convinced our citizens to invest in an operation that is worthless. If there had been more public involvement and discussion when the first application for exploratory drilling had been placed it might have prevented some of our citizen's from financial ruin and saved our tax dollars for much needed projects in our state." Freeda Cathcart
Observations re: Nuclear consortioum legislation from an elist member: "It's outrageous that public funds are going to be used in such a non transparent way. I would also suggest that folks spread the word with their facebook accounts and hopefully folks will get riled up and call in. The non-transparency is key plus why isn't this a PUBLIC entity researching alternative energy too....why a cash cow to one industry and not comparing and contrasting ALL our options?"
In response another elist member states, you've nailed the issue to the wall. The McWaters bill:
(1) lacks transparency
(2) fails to give equal time to renewables
(3) uses public funds to underwrite a single private industry (4) assumes that supporting the nuclear power industry is in the public interest.
