Southside Va. lawmakers meet with Gov on uranium
By STEVE SZKOTAK | Posted: Friday, February 15, 2013 11:09 am
http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/state-regional/ap/anti-uranium-mining-lawmakers-appeal-to-va-gov/article_3871ce23-3211-540f-a79b-0a4d906d5b72.html
Six Southside Virginia legislators have met with Gov. Bob McDonnell to discuss their concerns about uranium mining in their back yards.
Pittsylvania County Republican Delegate Donald Merricks said the governor told them Friday legislative matters such as transportation and education issues have his full attention and he doesn't expect to take up uranium mining anytime soon.
A proposal to end Virginia's decades-old prohibition on uranium mining got nowhere in the General Assembly this session, so the Legislature's leading advocate asked the governor to step in. Sen. John Watkins wants McDonnell to direct state agencies to draw up regulations for uranium mining that would possibly go before the 2014 session
Comments: VUI, the Coal and Energy Commission and some legislators have chosen to either ignore The National Academy of Science Report. Please read the following from Freeda Cathcart:
From Freeda Cathcart, Founder of Mothers United Against Uranium Mining:
"Virginia needs to start using international best practices if we want to be a leader in the nuclear community. SB 1138 exempts the consortium from being accountable and accessible to the public. This is contrary to the recommendation in the NAS report for Best Practices 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 comment upon - any decisions made that could impact their community. All stages of permitting should be transparent, with independent advisory reviews.' "
"Virginia needs to start using international best practices if we want to be a leader in the nuclear community. SB 1138 exempts the consortium from being accountable and accessible to the public. This is contrary to the recommendation in the NAS report for Best Practices 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 comment upon - any decisions made that could impact their community. All stages of permitting should be transparent, with independent advisory reviews.' "
Yesterday's vote:HB 1790 Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium Authority; established, report.
floor: 01/25/13 House: VOTE: PASSAGE (93-Y 3-N 1-A)
floor: 01/25/13 House: VOTE: PASSAGE (93-Y 3-N 1-A)
YEAS--Albo, Anderson, BaCote, Bell, Richard P., Bell, Robert B., Brink, Bulova, Byron, Carr, Cline, Cole, Cosgrove, Cox, J.A., Cox, M.K., Crockett-Stark, Dance, Dudenhefer, Fariss, Filler-Corn, Garrett, Gilbert, Greason, Habeeb, Head, Helsel, Herring, Hester, Hodges, Hope, Howell, A.T., Hugo, Iaquinto, Ingram, James, Joannou, Johnson, Jones, Keam, Kilgore, Knight, Kory, Landes, LeMunyon, Lewis, Lingamfelter, Lopez, Loupassi, Marshall, D.W., Massie, May, McClellan, McQuinn, Merricks, Miller, Minchew, Morefield, Morris, Morrissey, O'Bannon, Orrock, Peace, Plum, Pogge, Poindexter, Purkey, Putney, Ramadan, Ransone, Robinson, Rust, Scott, E.T., Scott, J.M., Sherwood, Sickles, Spruill, Stolle, Surovell, Tata, Torian, Toscano, Tyler, Villanueva,Ward, Ware, O., Ware, R.L., Watson, Watts, Webert, Wilt, Wright, Yancey, Yost, Mr. Speaker--93.
NAYS--Krupicka, O'Quinn, Rush--3.ABSTENTIONS--Farrell--1.NOT VOTING--Comstock, Edmunds, Marshall, R.G.--3.Delegate Krupicka was recorded as nay. Intended to vote yea.
SB 1138 Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium Authority; established.
YEAS--Alexander, Barker, Black, Blevins, Colgan, Ebbin, Edwards, Favola, Garrett, Hanger, Herring, Howell, Locke, Lucas, Marsden, Marsh, McDougle, McWaters, Miller, Newman, Norment, Northam, Obenshain, Petersen, Puckett, Reeves, Saslaw, Smith, Stosch, Vogel, Wagner, Watkins--32.
NAYS--Carrico, Deeds, Martin, McEachin, Puller, Ruff, Stanley, Stuart--8.RULE 36--0.NOT VOTING--0.
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Committee approves creating Va. nuclear consortium
RICHMOND
A House committee this afternoon approved creating a state nuclear energy group, opposed by uranium mining opponents as a back-door effort to further that cause.
SB1138 by Sen. Jeff McWaters, R-Virginia Beach, creates the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium Authority to study and research nuclear energy issues and make "the Commonwealth a national and global leader” in the field.
But opponents say it’s intended to further efforts to lift the state’s ban on uranium manning and is vaguer than legislation that created similar groups, such as the Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority.
“This bill does not authorize uranium mining,” said Glen Besa, state director of the Sierra Club. “But it certainly does open up the door to a wide range of activities leading up to that.”
Open government groups also opposed the portion of the bill that exempts the authority from the state’s Freedom of Information Act and other accountability laws, including those governing conflicts of interest.
“It is a dangerous public policy ... to create an entity that will be advising a public body and will not be subject itself to any kind of public accountability rules,” said Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government.
That exemption is necessary, though, to protect trade secrets, said Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Scott County, chair of the House Commerce and Labor Committee.
The committee approved the bill 20-2. It will now go to the House floor for a vote.
By Davis Wax
On January 31, legislation to lift a 31-year old ban on uranium mining was withdrawn from the Virginia Senate floor before voting could commence that afternoon. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. John Watkins, removed the bill from the agenda of a panel expected to defeat the proposal.
Like many others across the state, the members of the Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee are concerned with the environmental effects associated with the proposed mining of a large deposit of uranium ore at Coles Hill Farm in southern Virginia.
The National Academy of Sciences concluded in a study that the state’s wet climate and proclivity for extreme weather events like hurricanes are linked with a greater likelihood of water contamination through radioactive leaks. Human exposure to uranium — via contaminated dust, water, or food — has been linked to kidney and liver damage, various cancers and birth defects.
The radioactive waste leftover from such mining activity, known as tailings, has been a major concern for those opposed to the removal of the ban. Virginia Uranium, the company which has been pushing to lift the state ban, says it will safely store all tailings underground, though there have been questions about how close this storage would be to vital water resources.
The metropolitan area of Hampton Roads gets a large amount of its drinking water from Lake Gaston, which is only 20 miles downstream of Coles Hill. Richmond and Raleigh, N.C., are not far away, either. It is estimated that the drinking water of more than one million Virginians could be affected by such a uranium mine.
Gov. McDonnell (R) is overseeing the request, but before voting was scheduled to begin and as of press time, he had yet to take an official stance on the issue.
http://appvoices.org/2013/02/13/virginia-uranium-mining-fracking-ohio/
To Ban or Not To Ban ?: Update: James City County, through their membership in the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, supports keeping the ban on uranium mining in Virginia
On January 31, 2013, J4C and the Williamsburg Climate Action Network (WCAN) jointly sponsored an educational forum on Uranium Mining in Virginia. Forty-eight hardy souls braved the wind and cold to learn about Virginia Uranium Inc.’s efforts to begin mining uranium in Pittsylvania County.
Forum sponsors actively sought a speaker from among mining proponents but all contacted declined. According to a presentation by Wayne Moyer, of the J4C, the Pittsylvania deposit at Coles Hill, near Danville, is the only Virginia uranium deposit where mining is considered economically feasible. The General Assembly established a statewide moratorium on uranium mining in 1982; it remains in effect today. Legislation lifting the moratorium was introduced in this year’s General Assembly session but was withdrawn just hours before the forum, when there were not enough votes for passage.
Moyer outlined the basic science of uranium and described the risks involved in handling the radioactive byproducts exposed by uranium mining and processing. Since these elements remain radioactive for up to 4.7 billion years, the waste products of mining (tailings) containing them must be securely stored at the site for 200,000 years.
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) analyzed uranium mining at the Coles Hill site and reports that the high volume of rain and the occurrence of earthquakes and tornedos there pose great risks for mining. Highly specialized experts are needed both in planning and monitoring the operation. New resources will be required of Virginia since the state has no prior experience in this field. The report notes “steep hurtles” must be overcome before safe mining and processing can be achieved. Moyer noted that the quality of Virginia uranium is low. Mining here becomes economically feasible if the price of the processed uranium (yellowcake) equals $100/lb.; today’s price is $50/lb.
Nathan Lott, Executive Director of the Virginia Conservation Network (VCN), then spoke about VCN’s Keep The Ban campaign, opposing uranium mining in Virginia. He noted that while many studies have been done on the topic, they focus on “can” mining in Virginia be done safely. VCN asks “will” it be done safely.
He stated the estimated worst-case cost of damage from mining is twice the estimated best-case cost benefit. Lott noted that Coles Hill has a very high water table and that the area experienced two tornadoes in the past two years. He characterized as disturbing Virginia Department of Mining’s view that current resources and procedures are adequate to deal with the new challenges of uranium mining, despite the warnings in the NAS report.
He questioned the ability of Virginia regulators to control the radioactive dirt coming from mining and processing since they are currently ineffective at controlling regular dirt that is the main pollutant of the Chesapeake Bay. These matters and more led all local governments from Martinsville to Virginia Beach, including the county where Coles Hill is located, to pass resolutions opposed to lifting the ban.
The forum concluded with an array of comments and questions from the audience both supporting and opposing lifting the mining moratorium.
Update: James City County, through their membership in the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, supports keeping the ban on uranium mining in Virginia.
http://jcc-j4c.org/2013/02/04/uranium-mining-forum-a-success/
March 2 presentation on uranium and nuclear weapons
What? A presentation by Linda Cataldo Modica
Northeast Tennessee Activist and Organizer with Erwin Citizens Awareness Network, the Aerojet Action Project of the Appalachian Peace Education Center (APEC)
and the Core Team of Sierra Club’s National Nuclear Free Campaign
When & Where? March 2 Saturday 7pm to 9pm. Top Floor, Battery Park Apartments, One Battle Square, Downtown Asheville, N.C.
Focuses on Eastern Tennessee's Uranium & Nuclear Weapons Industry, Community Activism on Public Health around nuclear facilities, local & international organizing efforts, the work of both Tennessee and North Carolina citizen scientists, & the findings from wide spread sampling of surface water, sediment, attic dust & ground water. Also touches on related impacts to Western North Carolina and Asheville due to downwind and downstream movement of radioactive releases, transport of highly radioactive materials on our highways, regional importance to reprocessing, and permanent disposal problems.
The heart of Atomic Appalachia is located in the northeastern corner of Tennessee where several Energy & Defense Department contractors are concentrated. While DOE-contractor, Nuclear Fuel Services (NFS), in Erwin & defense-contractor, Aerojet Ordnance Tennessee, in Jonesborough are the major polluters of our waters, they also discharge radioactive contaminants into the air, as do Studsvik (a nuclear waste processor in Erwin) & AREVA (which downblends weapons-grade uranium at NFS). NFS, Aerojet, Studsvik and AREVA are clustered in the Nolichucky River Watershed. In the Holston Watershed to the north, radioactive waste is dumped at the Carter’s Valley Landfill in Hawkins County. Further down river, past Norris Lake but also in the Holston Watershed, is Oak Ridge National Laboratories (ORNL) which, during decades of nuclear weapons production, has dumped 1000 tons of elemental mercury on water-rich southern Appalachia also leaking radioactive wastes into our water, air, and soil.
Concerns about the impact on community health of our area’s nuclear facilities have been palpable for decades, but it is only since the formation of Erwin Citizens Awareness Network & APEC’s Aerojet Action Project that the health concerns of the residents of Erwin & Jonesborough have been publicized & also brought to the attention of state & federal officials.
http://www.mountainx.com/article/48442/March-2-presentation-on-uranium-and-nuclear-weapons
Published February 14, 2013, 02:53 PM
RAPID CITY (AP) — The South Dakota National Guard has postponed plans for training exercises on federal grasslands in the Black Hills after an environmental group warned the military about radiation levels caused by uranium deposits.
Maj. Gen. Tim Reisch, adjutant general of the Guard, said Wednesday the group would hold off until it can be determined that radiation levels in the area do not pose health hazards to soldiers. The Guard was contacted by Defenders of the Black Hills coordinator Charmaine White Face about the possibility of contamination.
"I'm very happy they're not going to be there for another year," White Face said. "But that radiation is not going away."
Reisch told the media there's no indication based on previous air samples that radiation samples at the proposed training area would be above safety standards, but the state will take the necessary precautions.
The Guard leader said he appreciated the heads-up from Defenders of the Black Hills.
"Anybody who has a concern about safety and writes the governor, that's good stuff as far as I'm concerned," Reisch said. "I know there's nobody more concerned about the safety of the South Dakota National Guard than the governor and myself. So, we're going slow on this."
http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/event/article/id/76188/group/homepage/
NAYS--Krupicka, O'Quinn, Rush--3.ABSTENTIONS--Farrell--1.NOT VOTING--Comstock, Edmunds, Marshall, R.G.--3.Delegate Krupicka was recorded as nay. Intended to vote yea.
SB 1138 Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium Authority; established.
floor: 02/05/13 Senate: Passed Senate (32-Y 8-N)
YEAS--Alexander, Barker, Black, Blevins, Colgan, Ebbin, Edwards, Favola, Garrett, Hanger, Herring, Howell, Locke, Lucas, Marsden, Marsh, McDougle, McWaters, Miller, Newman, Norment, Northam, Obenshain, Petersen, Puckett, Reeves, Saslaw, Smith, Stosch, Vogel, Wagner, Watkins--32.NAYS--Carrico, Deeds, Martin, McEachin, Puller, Ruff, Stanley, Stuart--8.RULE 36--0.NOT VOTING--0.
*************************************************************************************
Committee approves creating Va. nuclear consortium
A House committee this afternoon approved creating a state nuclear energy group, opposed by uranium mining opponents as a back-door effort to further that cause.
SB1138 by Sen. Jeff McWaters, R-Virginia Beach, creates the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium Authority to study and research nuclear energy issues and make "the Commonwealth a national and global leader” in the field.
But opponents say it’s intended to further efforts to lift the state’s ban on uranium manning and is vaguer than legislation that created similar groups, such as the Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority.
“This bill does not authorize uranium mining,” said Glen Besa, state director of the Sierra Club. “But it certainly does open up the door to a wide range of activities leading up to that.”
Open government groups also opposed the portion of the bill that exempts the authority from the state’s Freedom of Information Act and other accountability laws, including those governing conflicts of interest.
“It is a dangerous public policy ... to create an entity that will be advising a public body and will not be subject itself to any kind of public accountability rules,” said Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government.
That exemption is necessary, though, to protect trade secrets, said Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Scott County, chair of the House Commerce and Labor Committee.
The committee approved the bill 20-2. It will now go to the House floor for a vote.
The McDonnell administration has endorsed the proposal, and the governor would appoint 10 of the authority’s 17 board members.
Comments: Our NC friends will be recipients of "collateral damage" if VA mines uranium. Gratitude to all who are working to keep uranium mining out of the southeast.
Uranium Mining in Virginia: Pollution Expansion and Environmental Injustice Vs. Pollution Prevention and Environmental Justice
By Ken Ferruccio
The Virginia Uranium Mining Working Group’s review of “best practices” regulations in the Final Report provides powerful evidence for opposing uranium mining. Consequently, the people have spoken against uranium mining, but it seems now the attempt is to override their will.
The underlying purpose of the proposed Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium Authority seems to be to achieve by secrecy what cannot be achieved by transparency—namely, the mining of uranium in Virginia and the establishment of a vast waste management infrastructure for the radioactive tailings and possibly for radioactive waste from other places.
However, public knowledge that waste facilities continue to cause pervasive contamination and that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency legalize contamination in their regulatory frameworks to protect polluters and their companies mean we are dealing with one of the most serious internal threats to our nation. The threat is intrinsic to the prevailing model for economic development: uncontainable toxic, hazardous, and nuclear waste.
Because the containment principle continues to fail, Virginians, North Carolinians, their supporters, and other enlightened targeted communities and regions will continue to refuse to be subordinated to a condition of involuntary servitude (13th Amendment) to industries destructive to persons and properties (14th Amendment) and will affirm their right to shared sovereignty over interstate waters and all environmental concerns upon which their lives depend and will continue to resist dangerous waste facilities.
Resistance to uranium mining in Virginia could mean the introduction of waste management legislation that could authorize Governor McDonnell or subsequent governors (1) to make the final decision concerning the siting of toxic, hazardous, and nuclear waste facilities [on the recommendation of a Consortium Authority, for example,] (2) to reduce public hearings (if allowed) to a purely cosmetic function, (3) to preempt all local sovereignty rights and (4) to authorize the use of force as needed.
The 21st century is between two diametrically opposed and conflicting models for economic development: the prevailing model for pollution expansion and injustice, and a new model for a new world struggling to be born: the model for pollution prevention and justice, a model dedicated to changing the nihilistic view that human sacrifice is the cornerstone of civilization and replacing it with the reality that public sentiment is the cornerstone of a civilized democracy.
As environmental justice and pollution prevention advocates (ej-pp.org), our immediate task is to educate the public while resisting the mining of uranium in Virginia. Our long-range task is to transform the prevailing model for economic development into one that is environmentally, democratically, and economically sustainable.
We cannot construct a moral argument for the mining of uranium in Virginia or anywhere else without creating an ethic that would justify the pervasive radioactive contamination of the region and beyond in perpetuity.
The Virginia Uranium Mining Working Group’s Final Report is a about jobs, primarily for an educated elite. As is common knowledge, nuclear energy means the production of nuclear waste, enough to create problems in perpetuity and therefore jobs in perpetuity, but jobs costing nothing less than everything to all those who care about the protection of the environment and public health.
The attempt to mine uranium in Virginia and to establish a waste management infrastructure by preemption of rights or by any other means would cause a Constitutional crisis and a regional and national conflict of the utmost seriousness.
The underlying purpose of the proposed Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium Authority seems to be to achieve by secrecy what cannot be achieved by transparency—namely, the mining of uranium in Virginia and the establishment of a vast waste management infrastructure for the radioactive tailings and possibly for radioactive waste from other places.
However, public knowledge that waste facilities continue to cause pervasive contamination and that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency legalize contamination in their regulatory frameworks to protect polluters and their companies mean we are dealing with one of the most serious internal threats to our nation. The threat is intrinsic to the prevailing model for economic development: uncontainable toxic, hazardous, and nuclear waste.
Because the containment principle continues to fail, Virginians, North Carolinians, their supporters, and other enlightened targeted communities and regions will continue to refuse to be subordinated to a condition of involuntary servitude (13th Amendment) to industries destructive to persons and properties (14th Amendment) and will affirm their right to shared sovereignty over interstate waters and all environmental concerns upon which their lives depend and will continue to resist dangerous waste facilities.
Resistance to uranium mining in Virginia could mean the introduction of waste management legislation that could authorize Governor McDonnell or subsequent governors (1) to make the final decision concerning the siting of toxic, hazardous, and nuclear waste facilities [on the recommendation of a Consortium Authority, for example,] (2) to reduce public hearings (if allowed) to a purely cosmetic function, (3) to preempt all local sovereignty rights and (4) to authorize the use of force as needed.
The 21st century is between two diametrically opposed and conflicting models for economic development: the prevailing model for pollution expansion and injustice, and a new model for a new world struggling to be born: the model for pollution prevention and justice, a model dedicated to changing the nihilistic view that human sacrifice is the cornerstone of civilization and replacing it with the reality that public sentiment is the cornerstone of a civilized democracy.
As environmental justice and pollution prevention advocates (ej-pp.org), our immediate task is to educate the public while resisting the mining of uranium in Virginia. Our long-range task is to transform the prevailing model for economic development into one that is environmentally, democratically, and economically sustainable.
We cannot construct a moral argument for the mining of uranium in Virginia or anywhere else without creating an ethic that would justify the pervasive radioactive contamination of the region and beyond in perpetuity.
The Virginia Uranium Mining Working Group’s Final Report is a about jobs, primarily for an educated elite. As is common knowledge, nuclear energy means the production of nuclear waste, enough to create problems in perpetuity and therefore jobs in perpetuity, but jobs costing nothing less than everything to all those who care about the protection of the environment and public health.
The attempt to mine uranium in Virginia and to establish a waste management infrastructure by preemption of rights or by any other means would cause a Constitutional crisis and a regional and national conflict of the utmost seriousness.
Uranium mining lands Southside on list of endangered places
By TIM DAVIS
Star-Tribune EditorChatham Star Tribune
Star-Tribune EditorChatham Star Tribune
An ongoing push to lift Virginia’s longstanding ban on uranium mining landed Southside on the Southern Environmental Law Center’s top 10 list of endangered places in the Southeast.
The environmental group, based in Charlottesville, said the annual list released this week includes places that “face immediate, potentially irreparable, threats in 2013.”
The environmental group, based in Charlottesville, said the annual list released this week includes places that “face immediate, potentially irreparable, threats in 2013.”
Efforts to overturn Virginia’s 31-year moratorium, the group said, threatens the health of the Roanoke River Basin, which supplies drinking water for more than 1 million people.
Virginia Uranium Inc. is pushing lawmakers to end the 1982 ban so that it can mine a $7 billion uranium deposit about six miles northeast of Chatham.
Recently, a bill to draft regulations stalled in a Senate committee. However, the bill’s sponsor, Sen. John Watkins, urged Gov. Bob McDonnell to move forward on the permitting process anyway.
Southside lawmakers oppose uranium mining and want to keep the moratorium.
The Southern Environmental Law Center’s legislative director, Nat Mund, warned that anti-environmentalists in Congress and state legislatures weakening environmental laws and enforcement.
“There’s absolutely no reason why we have to choose between a healthy environment and a healthy economy—in fact, the two go hand-in-hand,” Mund said. “History shows that investing in clean water, healthy air, and clean energy can create jobs and save money—and lives—in the long run.”
The environmental group list of endangered places includes:
Talladega National Forest in Alabama. Pressure to allow “fracking” on 43,000 acres risks drinking water supplies for downstream communities and would bring industrial operations into camping and hiking areas and sensitive wildlife habitat.
Atlanta, Ga.’s water supply. Plans for multiple unnecessary reservoirs in the Atlanta area threaten water supplies for downstream communities, numerous headwater streams and aquatic ecosystems.
Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina. Plans to widen U.S. 64 would destroy 300 acres of valuable wetlands and habitat for the last wild population of red wolves, a federally endangered species.
Cape Fear Basin in North Carolina. A massive cement plant proposed for a site near Wilmington would destroy 1,000 acres of wetlands, add unsafe levels of mercury to local waters, and increase air pollution.
Courthouse Creek in North Carolina. A proposed timber sale in the “viewshed” of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville threatens 472 acres of sensitive forest, a popular recreation destination, trout streams, and local tourism.
Waccamaw River in South Carolina. Two unlined coal ash ponds near Myrtle Beach are contaminating groundwater with arsenic at up to 300 times the state standard, which flows into the Waccamaw River upstream of drinking water supplies and a national wildlife refuge.
Goforth Creek Canyon in Tennessee. A scenic spot on the Ocoee Scenic Byway will be permanently damaged if the state builds a new and unnecessary highway through the Cherokee National Forest.
Virginia and Tennessee’s mountains. Mountaintop removal continues to threaten forests, streams, wildlife, and communities across southern Appalachia, including a new project masquerading as a highway called the Coalfields Expressway.
Charlottesville. Despite more cost-effective, less damaging alternatives and strong public opposition, a $244 million proposed bypass would leave a permanent scar on one of the South’s most special communities.
Uranium Mining in VA
Virginia Uranium Inc. is pushing lawmakers to end the 1982 ban so that it can mine a $7 billion uranium deposit about six miles northeast of Chatham.
Recently, a bill to draft regulations stalled in a Senate committee. However, the bill’s sponsor, Sen. John Watkins, urged Gov. Bob McDonnell to move forward on the permitting process anyway.
Southside lawmakers oppose uranium mining and want to keep the moratorium.
The Southern Environmental Law Center’s legislative director, Nat Mund, warned that anti-environmentalists in Congress and state legislatures weakening environmental laws and enforcement.
“There’s absolutely no reason why we have to choose between a healthy environment and a healthy economy—in fact, the two go hand-in-hand,” Mund said. “History shows that investing in clean water, healthy air, and clean energy can create jobs and save money—and lives—in the long run.”
The environmental group list of endangered places includes:
Talladega National Forest in Alabama. Pressure to allow “fracking” on 43,000 acres risks drinking water supplies for downstream communities and would bring industrial operations into camping and hiking areas and sensitive wildlife habitat.
Atlanta, Ga.’s water supply. Plans for multiple unnecessary reservoirs in the Atlanta area threaten water supplies for downstream communities, numerous headwater streams and aquatic ecosystems.
Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina. Plans to widen U.S. 64 would destroy 300 acres of valuable wetlands and habitat for the last wild population of red wolves, a federally endangered species.
Cape Fear Basin in North Carolina. A massive cement plant proposed for a site near Wilmington would destroy 1,000 acres of wetlands, add unsafe levels of mercury to local waters, and increase air pollution.
Courthouse Creek in North Carolina. A proposed timber sale in the “viewshed” of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville threatens 472 acres of sensitive forest, a popular recreation destination, trout streams, and local tourism.
Waccamaw River in South Carolina. Two unlined coal ash ponds near Myrtle Beach are contaminating groundwater with arsenic at up to 300 times the state standard, which flows into the Waccamaw River upstream of drinking water supplies and a national wildlife refuge.
Goforth Creek Canyon in Tennessee. A scenic spot on the Ocoee Scenic Byway will be permanently damaged if the state builds a new and unnecessary highway through the Cherokee National Forest.
Virginia and Tennessee’s mountains. Mountaintop removal continues to threaten forests, streams, wildlife, and communities across southern Appalachia, including a new project masquerading as a highway called the Coalfields Expressway.
Charlottesville. Despite more cost-effective, less damaging alternatives and strong public opposition, a $244 million proposed bypass would leave a permanent scar on one of the South’s most special communities.
Uranium Mining in VA
On January 31, legislation to lift a 31-year old ban on uranium mining was withdrawn from the Virginia Senate floor before voting could commence that afternoon. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. John Watkins, removed the bill from the agenda of a panel expected to defeat the proposal.
Like many others across the state, the members of the Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee are concerned with the environmental effects associated with the proposed mining of a large deposit of uranium ore at Coles Hill Farm in southern Virginia.
The National Academy of Sciences concluded in a study that the state’s wet climate and proclivity for extreme weather events like hurricanes are linked with a greater likelihood of water contamination through radioactive leaks. Human exposure to uranium — via contaminated dust, water, or food — has been linked to kidney and liver damage, various cancers and birth defects.
The radioactive waste leftover from such mining activity, known as tailings, has been a major concern for those opposed to the removal of the ban. Virginia Uranium, the company which has been pushing to lift the state ban, says it will safely store all tailings underground, though there have been questions about how close this storage would be to vital water resources.
The metropolitan area of Hampton Roads gets a large amount of its drinking water from Lake Gaston, which is only 20 miles downstream of Coles Hill. Richmond and Raleigh, N.C., are not far away, either. It is estimated that the drinking water of more than one million Virginians could be affected by such a uranium mine.
Gov. McDonnell (R) is overseeing the request, but before voting was scheduled to begin and as of press time, he had yet to take an official stance on the issue.
http://appvoices.org/2013/02/13/virginia-uranium-mining-fracking-ohio/
To Ban or Not To Ban ?: Update: James City County, through their membership in the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, supports keeping the ban on uranium mining in Virginia
On January 31, 2013, J4C and the Williamsburg Climate Action Network (WCAN) jointly sponsored an educational forum on Uranium Mining in Virginia. Forty-eight hardy souls braved the wind and cold to learn about Virginia Uranium Inc.’s efforts to begin mining uranium in Pittsylvania County.
Forum sponsors actively sought a speaker from among mining proponents but all contacted declined. According to a presentation by Wayne Moyer, of the J4C, the Pittsylvania deposit at Coles Hill, near Danville, is the only Virginia uranium deposit where mining is considered economically feasible. The General Assembly established a statewide moratorium on uranium mining in 1982; it remains in effect today. Legislation lifting the moratorium was introduced in this year’s General Assembly session but was withdrawn just hours before the forum, when there were not enough votes for passage.
Moyer outlined the basic science of uranium and described the risks involved in handling the radioactive byproducts exposed by uranium mining and processing. Since these elements remain radioactive for up to 4.7 billion years, the waste products of mining (tailings) containing them must be securely stored at the site for 200,000 years.
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) analyzed uranium mining at the Coles Hill site and reports that the high volume of rain and the occurrence of earthquakes and tornedos there pose great risks for mining. Highly specialized experts are needed both in planning and monitoring the operation. New resources will be required of Virginia since the state has no prior experience in this field. The report notes “steep hurtles” must be overcome before safe mining and processing can be achieved. Moyer noted that the quality of Virginia uranium is low. Mining here becomes economically feasible if the price of the processed uranium (yellowcake) equals $100/lb.; today’s price is $50/lb.
Nathan Lott, Executive Director of the Virginia Conservation Network (VCN), then spoke about VCN’s Keep The Ban campaign, opposing uranium mining in Virginia. He noted that while many studies have been done on the topic, they focus on “can” mining in Virginia be done safely. VCN asks “will” it be done safely.
He stated the estimated worst-case cost of damage from mining is twice the estimated best-case cost benefit. Lott noted that Coles Hill has a very high water table and that the area experienced two tornadoes in the past two years. He characterized as disturbing Virginia Department of Mining’s view that current resources and procedures are adequate to deal with the new challenges of uranium mining, despite the warnings in the NAS report.
He questioned the ability of Virginia regulators to control the radioactive dirt coming from mining and processing since they are currently ineffective at controlling regular dirt that is the main pollutant of the Chesapeake Bay. These matters and more led all local governments from Martinsville to Virginia Beach, including the county where Coles Hill is located, to pass resolutions opposed to lifting the ban.
The forum concluded with an array of comments and questions from the audience both supporting and opposing lifting the mining moratorium.
Update: James City County, through their membership in the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, supports keeping the ban on uranium mining in Virginia.
http://jcc-j4c.org/2013/02/04/uranium-mining-forum-a-success/
March 2 presentation on uranium and nuclear weapons
What? A presentation by Linda Cataldo Modica
Northeast Tennessee Activist and Organizer with Erwin Citizens Awareness Network, the Aerojet Action Project of the Appalachian Peace Education Center (APEC)
and the Core Team of Sierra Club’s National Nuclear Free Campaign
When & Where? March 2 Saturday 7pm to 9pm. Top Floor, Battery Park Apartments, One Battle Square, Downtown Asheville, N.C.
Focuses on Eastern Tennessee's Uranium & Nuclear Weapons Industry, Community Activism on Public Health around nuclear facilities, local & international organizing efforts, the work of both Tennessee and North Carolina citizen scientists, & the findings from wide spread sampling of surface water, sediment, attic dust & ground water. Also touches on related impacts to Western North Carolina and Asheville due to downwind and downstream movement of radioactive releases, transport of highly radioactive materials on our highways, regional importance to reprocessing, and permanent disposal problems.
The heart of Atomic Appalachia is located in the northeastern corner of Tennessee where several Energy & Defense Department contractors are concentrated. While DOE-contractor, Nuclear Fuel Services (NFS), in Erwin & defense-contractor, Aerojet Ordnance Tennessee, in Jonesborough are the major polluters of our waters, they also discharge radioactive contaminants into the air, as do Studsvik (a nuclear waste processor in Erwin) & AREVA (which downblends weapons-grade uranium at NFS). NFS, Aerojet, Studsvik and AREVA are clustered in the Nolichucky River Watershed. In the Holston Watershed to the north, radioactive waste is dumped at the Carter’s Valley Landfill in Hawkins County. Further down river, past Norris Lake but also in the Holston Watershed, is Oak Ridge National Laboratories (ORNL) which, during decades of nuclear weapons production, has dumped 1000 tons of elemental mercury on water-rich southern Appalachia also leaking radioactive wastes into our water, air, and soil.
Concerns about the impact on community health of our area’s nuclear facilities have been palpable for decades, but it is only since the formation of Erwin Citizens Awareness Network & APEC’s Aerojet Action Project that the health concerns of the residents of Erwin & Jonesborough have been publicized & also brought to the attention of state & federal officials.
http://www.mountainx.com/article/48442/March-2-presentation-on-uranium-and-nuclear-weapons
Published February 14, 2013, 02:53 PM
National Guard holds off on training in grasslands amid uranium concerns
A key official told the media there's no indication based on previous air samples that radiation samples at the proposed training area would be above safety standards, but the state will take the necessary precautions.RAPID CITY (AP) — The South Dakota National Guard has postponed plans for training exercises on federal grasslands in the Black Hills after an environmental group warned the military about radiation levels caused by uranium deposits.
Maj. Gen. Tim Reisch, adjutant general of the Guard, said Wednesday the group would hold off until it can be determined that radiation levels in the area do not pose health hazards to soldiers. The Guard was contacted by Defenders of the Black Hills coordinator Charmaine White Face about the possibility of contamination.
"I'm very happy they're not going to be there for another year," White Face said. "But that radiation is not going away."
Reisch told the media there's no indication based on previous air samples that radiation samples at the proposed training area would be above safety standards, but the state will take the necessary precautions.
The Guard leader said he appreciated the heads-up from Defenders of the Black Hills.
"Anybody who has a concern about safety and writes the governor, that's good stuff as far as I'm concerned," Reisch said. "I know there's nobody more concerned about the safety of the South Dakota National Guard than the governor and myself. So, we're going slow on this."
http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/event/article/id/76188/group/homepage/
