Help Keep the Roanoke River Free of Uranium!

 

January 19, 2012
Jessie Thomas-Blate
Coordinator, Most Endangered Rivers

Earlier this year, American Rivers listed the Roanoke River as one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers® because it was threatened with a uranium mine. Recently, the National Academy of Sciences released a study on the potential impacts of uranium mining in Virginia.


“Radioactive waste dump of the East?

Last year, American Rivers listed the Roanoke River in Virginia as #3 on its list of America’s Most Endangered Rivers®. The reason? A proposal to mine what is thought to be the largest undeveloped uranium deposit in North America, in a rural area north of Danville, Virginia. It would be the first uranium mine, mill, and waste site in the eastern United States.

For 30 years, Virginia has banned uranium mining

It concedes only 0.06% of the deposit could be milled into “yellowcake” for fuel.

The remaining 58 billion pounds of waste would have to managed in perpetuity.

We need your help today!

Please sign a citizen petition by January 23 to KEEP THE BAN:  http://keeptheban.org/?page_id=237

Read more:

http://www.americanrivers.org/newsroom/blog/jthomas-2012118-help-keep-the-roanoke-river-free-of-uranium.html

Grand Canyon still endangered by uranium mining

February 24, 2012

Risks remain from uranium mining near the Grand Canyon Feb 22, 2012 High Country News By Heather Hansen, Red Lodge Clearing House. ”…..

There are over 5,000 active uranium claims within those one million acres.

The withdrawal goes a long way toward protecting the watersheds, seeps and springs, sacred sites and critical wildlife habitat in the area because the only claims that can now be mined would have had to establish “valid existing rights,” before the 2009 moratorium.

Yet even with these protections, the mines with existing rights — the ones allowed to operate despite the moratorium – may still have a significant negative impact on the Grand Canyon environment


http://uranium-news.com/page/3/

Safe Cleaning Tips for Your Home

Our homes aren't safe and clean if the air inside is polluted with chemicals

• Less is More
  Dilute your cleaning supplies according to instructions and use only what's needed to get the job done.
• Open the Window
  Clean with windows and doors open so you don't trap air pollution inside your home.
• Use Gloves and Other Precautions
  Cleaning chemicals may harm or penetrate skin and eyes - check warning labels
• .
• Keep Kids Away
  Children are more vulnerable to toxic chemicals. If they like to help, let them clean with soap and water, not toxic cleaners.
• Avoid "Antibacterial"
  If your family is generally healthy, there's no need to use potentially toxic "antibacterial" products, according to the American Medical Association. Wash your hands with plain soap and water.
• Never Mix Bleach with Ammonia, Vinegar, or Other Acids
  These combinations can produce deadly gases.
• Don't Be Fooled by Labels - Buy Certified Green Products
  Label claims aren't always true. Cleaning supplies certified by Green Seal or EcoLogo meet green standards.

Read more:
http://www.ewg.org/schoolcleaningsupplies/safecleaningtips

Del. James E. Edmunds II/House of Delegates

Wednesday, February 15, 2012 11:55 am

Del. James E. Edmunds II/House of Delegates, 60th DistrictChatham Star Tribune

According to the Virginia Public Access Project's online report of donations made to General Assembly members, Virginia Uranium has spent more than $120,000 on trips to France and Canada and other gifts to legislators.

The National Academy of Sciences recently held a hearing at the Institute of Advanced Learning in Danville and over 200 people attended. Several people from the Virginia Coalition attended and asked pointed questions of the committee.

I urge each of you to thoughtfully consider both sides of this critical issue of mining uranium and to read the reports posted on our website at www.readthereports.org.

I encourage you to contact me any time you have a concern by phone at 804-698-1060, by email at deljedmunds@house.virginia.gov, by mail at P.O. Box 406, Richmond, Va. 23218 or through my website,www.friendsofjamesedmunds.com.

I will be in Richmond until March 10. Don't forget to drop by if you are in the neighborhood. I look forward to hearing from you.

http://www.wpcva.com/altavista/opinion/article_42614704-57f9-11e1-8a38-001871e3ce6c.html

Ionising radiation

IONISING RADIATION is just one type of radiation. In physics, radiation describes any process in which energy travels through a medium or through, space, ultimately to be absorbed by another body.

In discussing the nuclear industry, we are not talking about other forms of radiation, which are mainly non-ionising – e.g: acoustic radiation (sound, ultrasound, infrasound) non-ionising forms of electromagnetic radiation (i.e., radio waves.)

While there is debate about whether or not electrmagnetic radiation is harmful to life, there is conclusive proof that ionising radiation is harmful.



What is IONISING RADIATION?
Uranium atoms are unstable, breaking up into other atoms – radioisotopes, and giving off energy in the form of gamma rays

The 3 types of radiation (alpha, beta and gamma) are different in the way that they can travel through substances . (Alpha rays do not penetrate the body, but can be breathed in, or swallowed, and remain in tge body.)

What are “high level” and “low level” wastes?
Where exactly do these radioactive elements come from?

High-level waste consists mostly of milling tailings, spent nuclear reactor fuel from both commerical power plants and military facilities, as well as reprocessed materials .

Low-level waste includes the remainder of radioactive wastes and materials generated in power plants, such as contaminated reactor water, plus those wastes created in medical laboratories, hospitals, and industry.

Such wastes come in many ways, including – ” protective clothing of people in contact with radioactive materials, old medical radiation equipment from hospitals and clinics.

All can emit radiation for hundreds of thousands of years. It spreads through the environment mainly through water. Buried wastes leak into groundwater.

Read more:
http://nuclear-news.net/information/wastes-2/

Living Green Today

Step by Step to an Renewable-Energy Powered Home

Living Green, is basically making decisions considering the impact that decision would
have on the environment. Living Green is making choices that are good for the earth.

1. Conserve Energy - Most people can not afford to buy the additional PV & solar heating modules to run the average US home. There are many people who figure they are quite well off just by doing this step alone!

1A. Insulate as much as you can afford - Put in double and triple pane windows. Insulate the roof, walls and maybe floor. Use light colored roofing to reduce your cooling expenses in hot climates.

1B. Get energy efficient appliances, lighting, heating, and cooling - Remember heating and cooling are your major loads. Solar can replace heating (or even cooling) depending on your site (and INSULATION). 2. Examine your site - How many hours of sun per day does your site average? Is there any objects blocking the sun? The clearer the view of the sun's path, the longer you'll get usable energy out of your solar modules 3. Add up your electrical load - You need to find the total watt-hours of the load's you want to put on RE battery system or to compensate for the load usage in a battery less grid-tied RE system. By using the data plate on your appliances will give you a quick, but general idea of that appliance's energy usage. A more accurate, easier, and more expensive way is to use a watt-hour meter. You can also use your electric bill, which gives you total watts used in kilowatts, or watts times one thousand. 4. How much money can you spend? - Due to a lack of money, people will only put part of their electrical load on an renewable energy system, then spend more later on when they can afford to buy more. Read more: http://www.discoversolarenergy.com/lvg-grn/live-green.htm

Uranium mine risks outweigh benefits

To the Editor:

In response to “McDonnell asks lawmakers to delay action on uranium mining ban” I would like to voice my approval for McDonnell’s choice to maintain the moratorium.

However, I am disappointed that he issued a commission to draft regulations without the consent of Virginians, side-stepping the public in the name of economic benefit.

Quite simply, uranium mining is not the future of Virginia’s economy.

When considering that Virginians would face what the National Academy of Sciences calls “adverse human health risks” like cancer from contaminated water, it is apparent that the cost citizens must bear outweighs the minimal benefits they may reap.


Dennis Williams
Richmond

http://www.smithmountaineagle.com/opinion/article_40058166-5d7e-11e1-b4a9-0019bb2963f4.htm l

Governor McDonnell Announces Wind Energy Leases Advancing off Virginia Coast

RICHMOND - Governor McDonnell announced today that the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is moving forward with the next step in offshore wind energy development off the Virginia coast.

The BOEM is publishing the call for information and nominations aimed at industry interest in locations off the Virginia coast for commercial wind energy leases. The call is the first step in the leasing process. It describes the areas that will be made available and solicits expression of interest from developers. Developers will have 45 days to respond to the call.

Once responses are received, BOEM will determine whether their leasing process will be competitive or non-competitive. "Cost-effective development of Virginia's offshore wind resources is one important component of our overall effort to make Virginia 'The Energy Capital of the East Coast,'"said Governor McDonnell. "

We must also maintain reasonable energy costs and a reliable, consistent supply. Our partnership with BOEM, and this step forward toward offshore wind development builds on the strong foundation laid by the Virginia Task Force and our private partners like the VOW Coalition, Huntington Ingalls, Gamesa and others."

"We are working closely with the Commonwealth of Virginia to facilitate the commercial leasing process for renewable energy in federal waters off Virginia's coast and are building on the steps that the Commonwealth has taken to encourage offshore wind development," said BOEM Director Tommy P. Beaudreau.

"This, along with the completion of BOEM's environmental assessment of leasing in the mid-Atlantic area, are significant milestones in identifying and refining priority areas for potential offshore commercial wind energy development."

The location under consideration in today's announcement - or call area - was identified by the intergovernmental Virginia Renewable Energy Task Force, which includes federal, state, local and tribal government representatives.

The call area is intended to maximize the area available for commercial offshore wind development while balancing these efforts with military and commercial shipping interests and the protection of the environment.

A map of the call area can be found at: http://www.boem.gov/Renewable-Energy-Program/State-Activities/Virginia.aspx

The notice is available through the Federal Register at: http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/public-inspection/index.html.


http://www.governor.virginia.gov/news/viewRelease.cfm?id=1112

Weather Advisories: TORNADO WATCH in effect until 400 PM EST FRI FEB 24 2012

Tornado on White Oak Mt. in April, another tornado same area in Nov., Keep the Ban!

By: GoDanRiver Staff | GoDanRiver.com
Published: February 24, 2012 Updated: February 24, 2012 - 10:16 AM

A tornado watch has been issued for Danville and Pittsylvania County through 4 p.m. Friday.

The main threat will be strong, damaging winds ahead of a cold front, said WSLS10 Meteorologist Patrick McKee.

However, the tornado threat is low, McKee said.

A wind advisory is in effect until midnight Friday, with sustained winds up to 25 miles per hour and gusts as high as 50 miles per hour, McKee said.

“It’s not unheard of to have severe weather during February, though it doesn’t happen often,” McKee said.

According to a National Weather Service study, February is the least likely month for seeing severe weather in the area, McKee pointed out.

“As for general thunderstorms, stronger storm systems, sometimes even associated with snow, have produced thunder in February, though it doesn’t happen often,” McKee said.

http://www2.godanriver.com/news/2012/feb/24/tornado-watch-issued-parts-dan-river-region-ar-1713104/

Weather Advisories

TORNADO WATCH in effect until 400 PM EST FRI FEB 24 2012 Warning issued: 103 PM EST FRI FEB 24 2012

 

TORNADO WATCH 36 REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 400 PM EST FOR THE 
FOLLOWING LOCATIONS

VAC005-009-011-017-019-021-023-029-031-035-037-045-063-067-071-
077-083-089-121-141-143-155-161-163-173-185-197-515-530-580-590-
640-678-680-690-750-770-775-242100-
/O.CON.KWNS.TO.A.0036.000000T0000Z-120224T2100Z/



VA 
.    VIRGINIA COUNTIES INCLUDED ARE

ALLEGHANY            AMHERST             APPOMATTOX          
BATH                 BEDFORD             BLAND               
BOTETOURT            BUCKINGHAM          CAMPBELL            
CARROLL              CHARLOTTE           CRAIG               
FLOYD                FRANKLIN            GILES               
GRAYSON              HALIFAX             HENRY               
MONTGOMERY           PATRICK             PITTSYLVANIA        
PULASKI              ROANOKE             ROCKBRIDGE          
SMYTH                TAZEWELL            WYTHE               




VIRGINIA INDEPENDENT CITIES INCLUDED ARE

BEDFORD              BUENA VISTA         COVINGTON           
DANVILLE             GALAX               LEXINGTON           
LYNCHBURG            MARTINSVILLE        RADFORD             
ROANOKE              SALEM      

---

WIND ADVISORY in effect until 1200 AM EST SAT FEB 25 2012 Warning issued: 1004 AM EST FRI FEB 24 2012

 

...HIGH WINDS EXPECTED TODAY AND TONIGHT...

.A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL PUSH THROUGH THE MID ATLANTIC REGION
TODAY. WINDS WILL BECOME VERY GUSTY BEHIND THIS FRONT.

NCZ004>006-020-VAZ043>047-058-059-250000-
/O.CON.KRNK.WI.Y.0008.120224T1700Z-120225T0500Z/
STOKES-ROCKINGHAM-CASWELL-YADKIN-HENRY-PITTSYLVANIA-CAMPBELL-
APPOMATTOX-BUCKINGHAM-HALIFAX-CHARLOTTE-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...DANBURY...EDEN...YANCEYVILLE...
YADKINVILLE...MARTINSVILLE...DANVILLE...LYNCHBURG...APPOMATTOX...
SOUTH BOSTON...KEYSVILLE
1004 AM EST FRI FEB 24 2012



...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EST TONIGHT...

* LOCATIONS...SOUTHSIDE VIRGINIA INTO THE PIEDMONT OF NORTH 
CAROLINA. 

* HAZARDS...STRONG WIND GUSTS.

* WINDS...WEST 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH.

* TIMING...STARTING EARLY THIS AFTERNOON AND CONTINUING THROUGH 
THE EVENING. 

* IMPACTS...DIFFICULT DRIVING...ALONG WITH DOWNED TREE LIMBS AND 
POTENTIAL FOR POWER OUTAGES. 

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WIND ADVISORY MEANS THAT WINDS OF 35 MPH ARE EXPECTED. WINDS
THIS STRONG CAN MAKE DRIVING DIFFICULT...ESPECIALLY FOR HIGH
PROFILE VEHICLES. USE EXTRA CAUTION.

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Chatham&state=VA&site=RNK&textField1=36.8193&textField2=-79.3983&e=1

Uranium Mining: Risky

Case Summary

In 2007, Virginia Uranium, Inc., went public with plans to exploit a major uranium deposit in Pittsylvania County, in southern Virginia. The operation would entail extensive mining, a milling facility, and disposal of massive amounts of waste that would leave a toxic and radioactive legacy for centuries.

The deposit at the "Coles Hill" farm was discovered years ago, but a statewide ban on uranium mining enacted in 1982 still exists today. Now, the industry is pushing to lift the ban as soon as the 2012 General Assembly.

SELC is at the forefront of a statewide citizen effort, the Keep the Ban Coalition, to ensure the statewide ban stays in place.

Uranium Mining: A Dangerous Proposal

Uranium occurs naturally in the ground, but when exposed to air and water, radiation is released into the environment. There is no precedent for large-scale uranium mining in the East, where the population density and a wet climate increase the chance of radiation contaminating streams and groundwater and exposure to humans.

In the last century, the Commonwealth has been hit by at least 78 category-strenth hurricanes, including Hurricane Camille in 1969 which dumped 31 inches of rain on central Virginia. In 2011, at least 37 tornadoes were recorded in Virginia, including one in Halifax County about 20 miles from the Coles Hill site. And in August, 2011, an earthquake of 5.8 rocked Virginia; its epicenter was just 125 miles from Coles Hill.

Virginia has no regulations for uranium mining, and, with less than 1% of the state’s general fund revenues dedicated to environmental programs, is ill-prepared to sufficiently oversee the industry. The federal government has virtually no experience regulating uranium mining in a wet climate.

Health and Economic Risks Are High

The potential health impacts of exposure to uranium and mining chemicals are well-documented in global studies of people working in and living near mines, and include lung cancer, bone cancer, leukemia, birth defects, weakened immune systems, hormone disruption, and damage to DNA, the kidney and liver.

Virginia Beach, which gets its drinking water from Lake Gaston, downstream of the Coles Hill site, released a study concluding that a catastrophic failure of a uranium waste containment structure at the site could contaminate the city’s drinking water for as long as two years.

Establishment of a uranium industry in southern Virginia would strangle efforts to diversify the region’s economy and threaten existing businesses—including agriculture, tourism, and recreational fisheries.

Read more:
http://www.southernenvironment.org/cases/uranium_mining_in_virginia

Water & Uranium Mining

 

According to the Environmental Protection Agency's TENORM Report, "Water is perhaps the most significant means of dispersal of uranium and related [radioactive materials] in the environment from mines and mine wastes...Uranium is very soluble in acidic and alkaline waters and can be transported easily from a mine site." This is of great concern. If Virginia allows uranium mining, it would be the first state to do so in the United States in a climate where rainfall exceeds evaporation.

Contaminated Water
Water is used (and contaminated) in the milling process. In addition, rain falling on waste products from the mining and milling processes picks up radioactive and other toxic elements which can end up and remain in surface and ground waters for thousands of years. In the 1980s, Marline Uranium estimated that the waste pile from their proposed Virginia operation would cover 930 acres, 100 feet deep.

Map depicting the size of the potential 1983 uranium waste pile.
At the recently proposed Coles Hill uranium mining site in Pittsylvania County, there will be hundreds of acres of radioactive waste and millions of gallons of water contaminated in the mining and milling processes. To mine uranium safely, hundreds of millions of gallons of contaminated and radioactive water will have to be prevented from running into Virginia streams or leaching into the ground water. Virginia's most populous communities lie downstream of the uranium leases filed in the 1980s.

Map of Drinking Water Resources downstream of 1980s N. Piedmont Leases.
Map of Drinking Water Resources downstream of Coles Hill.

Virginia's Acute Rainfall Events
Not only does the Virginia Piedmont have greater annual rainfall than other uranium mining communities, it also has greater acute rainfall events. Two of the top five most intense 12-hour storms in the United States occurred in the Virginia Piedmont.

Map of 12-hour storm events.
Twenty-seven inches of rain fell on Nelson County in 1969. Twenty-nine inches fell in Madison County in 1995. Significant flooding also happened in Pittsylvania County in 1996 during Hurricane Fran.

View home video footage & map of the flooding event.
As noted by Elizabeth Haskell in her dissent to the recommendation of the Uranium Subcommittee/Uranium Administrative Group: "In Virginia's wet climate where water is discharged from the site and filters through tailings, the transmittal of radiation to people through streams and the groundwater is a major issue."

Conclusion
Such a risky experiment should not be conducted on Virginia. Virginia should take no action to initiate or sanction a study of uranium mining until the proponents of mining provide reviewable information demonstrating that mining and milling have been undertaken in five places with climate, geology, and population density similar to Virginia and in such a manner as to safeguard the environment, natural and historic resources, agricultural lands, and the health and well-being of citizens of those communities.

Click here to see maps:
http://www.pecva.org/anx/index.cfm/1,391,1629,0,html/Water-amp-Uranium-Mining



 

Video Highlights Mining Risks in Virginia

Nowhere in America has uranium been mined or milled under humid, high-rainfall conditions like exist in Virginia.

Even at arid sites in the West, where it is more feasible to contain toxic and radioactive water from mining and milling operations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has found that tailings from uranium ore have contaminated groundwater in nearly every case.

Learn more about uranium mining and the potential consequences in this video produced by The Southern Environmental Law Center and The Piedmont Environmental Council.

http://www.pecva.org/anx/index.cfm/1,391,3947,0,html/Video-Highlights-Mining-Risks-in-Virginia

Get the Facts: Keep the Ban

Print the Keep The Ban brochure to give to your friends and neighbors

Background Virginia has a nearly 30-year ban on uranium mining. Foreign-backed interests are trying to lift the ban so they can mine and process uranium, starting in Southside Virginia. Drinking water, human health, farmland, property values, wildlife and tourism across Virginia are at risk.

Health risks of radioactive and toxic waste If the ban were lifted, huge amounts of radioactive and toxic waste would be disposed near farmland and local waterways in Virginia, requiring management for centuries to come. Exposure to uranium waste has been linked to increases in leukemia, kidney disease and other severe health problems.

Downstream drinking water impacts Virginia’s wet weather makes uranium production a risky experiment. Severe weather events – like Hurricane Irene in 2011 — could overwhelm uranium operations. A recent study predicts a spill at the Coles Hill site could contaminate drinking water for up to two years for Virginia Beach.

Uranium has been found statewide The uranium industry held leases throughout the state in the 1980s, including Occoquan River and Rappahannock River watersheds. If the ban is lifted, numerous communities could be at risk.

How uranium is mined and milled There are three main ways uranium ore can be extracted. All forms of mining create health risks for mine workers and the general public and may permanently damage the environment.

Click here to get info:
http://keeptheban.org/?page_id=15

Keep the Ban: More Opposed to U Mining

Keep The Ban on Uranium Mining in VA

Friends of the New River and Friends of the Rappahannock (River) have both joined the growing and diverse coalition of organizations opposed to uranium mining. See the full list on our website.

 

The Keep the Ban Coalition is a group of local and state organizations working to maintain the existing ban on uranium mining in Virginia. More than 9,000 citizens have stated their support for the ban to the General Assembly, and 60 government entities and nonprofit groups (that are not part ...

 

Read more:

http://keeptheban.org/

 

 

 

Del. James E. Edmunds II/House of Delegates, 60th District: Uranium Mining

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 01:11 PM PST

Posted: Wednesday, January 25, 2012 2:27 pm

Del. James E. Edmunds II/House of Delegates, 60th District

In the second week of the General Assembly session, the pace quickened. I would like to report on several items of interest that occurred last week.

Last week, I mentioned the prospect of a bill being introduced to lift the 30-year ban on uranium mining in Virginia.

This week, I participated in a press conference on Wednesday with senators Frank Ruff and Bill Stanley and delegates Don Merricks, Danny Marshall and Tommy Wright, calling for Gov. McDonnell to direct that no action be taken on lifting this ban during the 2012 session.

Also speaking at this press conference were local business and industry leaders Chris Lumsden of Halifax Regional Health System, Ben Davenport of First Piedmont Corp. in Chatham, Charlie Majors from American National Bank in Danville and Tom Leahy, public utilities director from Virginia Beach. All of these diverse parties share grave concerns over the prospect of the detrimental effects that uranium mining in Pittsylvania County would have on the rest of the state.

As a result, on Thursday Gov. McDonnell called for the establishment of a Uranium Working Group composed of staff from the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, Department of Environmental Quality and Virginia Department of Health "to provide a scientific policy analysis to help the General Assembly assess whether the moratorium on uranium mining in the commonwealth should be lifted, and if so, how best to do so."

I am pleased that the governor had the foresight to recognize that there were far too many questions rather than answers after the release of the NAS study. My opinion is that allowing uranium to be mined in Southside will adversely affect all future economic development efforts and place a stigma on our area due to the health risks associated with it. We must continue to work hard as a region to insure the ban is not lifted.

I want to personally thank the members of the Virginia Coalition and the Alliance for Progress in Southern Virginia for their hard work on this issue.

Read more:
http://www.wpcva.com/altavista/opinion/article_ef3a7db2-478a-11e1-8caa-001871e3ce6c.html

Keep The Ban on Uranium Mining in VA

 

Call Governor McDonnell today. Tell him to Keep the Ban on uranium mining permanent! (804) 786-2211

Virginia Keeps the Ban this Year! …Let’s Make It Permanent

keeptheban.org

 

In May 2011 the Keep the Ban coalition launched with a concerned group of citizens, 1,000 signatures, 20 groups and one big goal: Keep the Ban on uranium mining in Virginia.

 

And while the industry spent millions in lobbyists and trips this year, we were busy organizing and growing. Today, ...

 

Sign the petition:

http://keeptheban.org/?page_id=237

 

 

Letter: Uranium Mining Decision Should Have Been Open

January 21, 2012

The article, “Governor wants to keep ban on Uranium Mining” describes the recent decision by Governor McDonnell to create a commission to both study and draft regulations for uranium mining. This behind-closed-doors mandate is a movement towards lifting the uranium mining ban in Virginia.

I applaud the governor’s decision to maintain the moratorium for now.

However, a decision to move this process forward should have been an open process, especially if the mining will take place in our backyard.

In the event of a catastrophic failure at a waste disposal facility, radioactivity in Lake Gaston (primary drinking water source for Chesapeake/Virginia Beach) could reach levels 10-20 times greater than allowed in the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Any threat to our public health should not be tolerated.

The NAS study stated that uranium mining in Virginia poses serious health risks. Our climate, ripe with hurricanes and floods, is untested ground. Could the uranium waste be washed away and into our drinking water? Governor McDonnell’s actions beg the question, “Are we killing the goose to feed the gander?”

Michael Edwards
Richmond, Va.

http://potomaclocal.com/2012/01/21/letter-uranium-mining-decision-should-have-been-open/

FEMA Approves Earthquake Assistance for Albemarle and King George Counties

Commonwealth of Virginia

Office of Governor Bob McDonnell

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 2, 2012

Office of the Governor
Contact: Jeff Caldwell
Phone: (804) 225-4260
Email: Jeff.Caldwell@Governor.Virginia.Gov
Virginia Department of Emergency Management
Contact: Bob Spieldenner
Phone: (804) 674-2400
Email: bob.spieldenner@vdem.virginia.gov

FEMA Approves Earthquake Assistance for Albemarle and King George Counties

~Deadline to Register is March 5~

RICHMOND – Governor Bob McDonnell today announced that individuals in Albemarle and King George are now eligible for federal disaster aid to help them recover from a 5.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Virginia on Aug. 23 and led to more than 60 aftershocks.

FEMA denied Virginia’s original request for assistance for Albemarle and King George on Dec. 29, 2011. Governor McDonnell appealed and now the counties join Culpeper, Fluvanna, Goochland, Louisa, Orange and Spotsylvania counties and the city of Fredericksburg in eligibility for FEMA’s Individual Assistance Program.

“I’m pleased that FEMA is providing assistance to help homeowners in these counties repair their homes, said Governor McDonnell. “The damage is significant and federal disaster assistance will make a difference.”

The federal Individual Assistance Program provides grants, disaster housing assistance and low-interest loans. Individuals and families in need of earthquake recovery aid can register immediately by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362), TTY 800-462-7585, or go online to www.DisasterAssistance.gov. Phone lines are open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. Online registration is available at any time. Those with smart phones or other mobile devices also can register at m.fema.gov. The deadline to register is March 5, 2012.

Residents also can visit one of the Disaster Recovery Centers Monday – Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. They will close Feb. 11, 2012.

· Louisa County Disaster Recovery Center at Triangle Plaza, 502 E. Main St., Suite 6000 (former Video 2000 store), in Louisa.

· 8960 Courthouse Road in the Spotsylvania Courthouse

Business owners can apply to FEMA for low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. Those applying should be prepared to provide basic information about themselves (name, social security number, address and phone number), insurance coverage and information to help substantiate losses.

Residents in areas of the state not eligible for FEMA assistance should contact their local emergency manager to learn about volunteer groups in their area. Volunteer groups have been active statewide during 2011, helping Virginians recover from disasters where state and federal governments have been unable to assist.

Uranium risks far outweigh benefits

Posted: Wednesday, January 25, 2012 2:17 pm

To the editor,

A well-known philosopher once said, "Explanations are for the mental masses."

This is what came to mind when I read Virginia Uranium Inc.'s most recent propaganda release, "We're committed to protecting water quality."

Why does VUI feel the need to continue to explain itself if in fact uranium mining would be as safe and innocuous as they claim? If uranium mining had ever been safe anywhere, which it has not, they wouldn't feel such a desperate need to explain just how safe their mine would be.

What they have presented is a pretty drawing of a disaster waiting to happen. A containment cell constructed just like your local landfill, only instead of household garbage, it contains radioactive waste. A nice concept, but one whose reliability over the course of 1,000 years is indeed doubtful.

The truly frightening part is the sentence that reads, " Covering tailings material with water during operations ..." Where do they imagine all that water will end up? It's water containing not only radioactive material, but a host of other toxins as well? And how do they know for certain that an earthquake could not crack that containment cell open like an egg or that a hurricane would not dump enough water on Coles Hill to cause those cells to become so saturated that they leak their contents into the groundwater surrounding them?

The truth is that VUI has no real idea how these cells will perform over time. No amount of regulations would prevent such naturally occurring catastrophes. VUI is putting its faith in an unknown, and they expect the rest of us here in Southside to do the same.

Like the builders of the Titanic, VUI wants to take us for a ride on their unsinkable ship. And we all know how many of those have ever been built. None. Zero. That's the same as the number of safe uranium mines that have ever been.

VUI can show us all the cute diagrams they want, but they can never truthfully say what will happen over the course of the next thousand years or even the next five minutes. The risks posed by uranium mining in Southside far outweigh whatever fleeting benefits it might present. VUI's cheerleading ads are no consolation to those of us who stand to lose everything and gain nothing from uranium.

Jesse Andrews

Halifax

http://www.wpcva.com/altavista/opinion/article_815a9076-4789-11e1-bfe2-001871e3ce6c.html

James E. Edmunds II

Posted: Wednesday, January 25, 2012 2:27 pm

James E. Edmunds IIDel. James E. Edmunds II/House of Delegates, 60th DistrictChatham Star Tribune

In the second week of the General Assembly session, the pace quickened. I would like to report on several items of interest that occurred last week.

Last week, I mentioned the prospect of a bill being introduced to lift the 30-year ban on uranium mining in Virginia. This week, I participated in a press conference on Wednesday with senators Frank Ruff and Bill Stanley and delegates Don Merricks, Danny Marshall and Tommy Wright, calling for Gov.

McDonnell to direct that no action be taken on lifting this ban during the 2012 session. Also speaking at this press conference were local business and industry leaders Chris Lumsden of Halifax Regional Health System, Ben Davenport of First Piedmont Corp. in Chatham, Charlie Majors from American National Bank in Danville and Tom Leahy, public utilities director from Virginia Beach. All of these diverse parties share grave concerns over the prospect of the detrimental effects that uranium mining in Pittsylvania County would have on the rest of the state.

As a result, on Thursday Gov. McDonnell called for the establishment of a Uranium Working Group composed of staff from the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, Department of Environmental Quality and Virginia Department of Health "to provide a scientific policy analysis to help the General Assembly assess whether the moratorium on uranium mining in the commonwealth should be lifted, and if so, how best to do so."

I am pleased that the governor had the foresight to recognize that there were far too many questions rather than answers after the release of the NAS study. My opinion is that allowing uranium to be mined in Southside will adversely affect all future economic development efforts and place a stigma on our area due to the health risks associated with it. We must continue to work hard as a region to insure the ban is not lifted.

I want to personally thank the members of the Virginia Coalition and the Alliance for Progress in Southern Virginia for their hard work on this issue.

Read more:

http://www.wpcva.com/altavista/opinion/article_ef3a7db2-478a-11e1-8caa-001871e3ce6c.html

Uranium deposits

Wednesday, January, 18, 2012; 11:41 PM
by Josh Higgins, news reporter

But in addition to the natural contaminants resulting from mining, the mining process itself can release other toxins into the environment.

“You have residues of diesel fuel and gasoline, all of which are extremely toxic to organisms,” Moran said. “It’s very common to use a lot of toxic processing agents in volumes that are tremendous, so all of these could potentially get into the surface or groundwater and even the air. I’ve sort of neglected the air part, because that’s not what I normally deal with. But it’s a real issue.”

Moran said even research on uranium mines has had issues, as many uranium mining companies pay researchers to conduct studies.

“That’s a normal problem around the world,” he said. “It isn’t that these are good or bad guys, but you have a conflict of interest,” he said. “(The companies) want to promote this activity and make a lot of money, yet they’re the ones paying for the science. So, it’s a real problem in terms of getting independent science. I think that’s a major issue.”

While mining proponents say mining can be done safely, Lester agrees that uranium mines have their problems.

“Everywhere you look there are issues with this stuff,” Lester said. “The potential for accidents is always there. There’s never been a uranium site in the U.S. that hasn’t had problems.”

Read more:
http://www.collegiatetimes.com/stories/19027/uranium-deposits-still-untapped/p2

WATER GROUPS WELCOME LAUNCH OF 5-MONTH PUBLIC OUTREACH BY NATIONAL ACADEMIES URANIUM COMMITTEE

by Roanoke River Basin on Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 7:59pm

Danville, VA - On February 7, 2011, members and officers of the Roanoke River Basin
Association (RRBA) and Dan River Basin Association (DRBA) attended a public
briefing by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) on the findings of its recently
released technical report on uranium mining. By holding the public meeting in Danville,
VA, the NAS has launched a five-month public outreach, as required under the NAS
agreement with Virginia Tech, the official sponsor of the uranium mining study.
The National Academy of Sciences report on uranium mining, released on December 19,
2011, has validated all of the concerns raised by the two associations and put Virginia’s
legislators on notice of risks and uncertainties associated with allowing uranium mining
and milling in Virginia’s unpredictable climate and of the inability of the modern day
technology to eliminate all of those risks. The report also highlighted the lack of
expertise and experience at both the state and federal levels to regulate and enforce
regulations for uranium mining in Virginia's climate.


In their efforts to prevent uranium mining in the basin’s watershed, the RRBA and
DRBA have been joined by over 100 organizations and localities in Virginia and North
Carolina that have expressed their support for the uranium mining ban. Despite the
general consensus among Virginia citizens and legislators that year 2012 should be
devoted to conducting public meetings to educate the public on the findings of numerous
uranium mining studies released late last year, the Governor of Virginia issued an
executive order directing the development of statutory and administrative regulations for
uranium mining and milling, thereby sidestepping the legislative process established by
the Virginia law.


"We believe that before any taxpayer funds are diverted from education and
transportation needs and spent on developing regulations for the industry that is currently
banned in Virginia, the public, legislators, and elected officials should educate
themselves about the NAS report findings. Virginia citizens should use this opportunity
before rushing into a decision that has the potential of changing the Commonwealth's
image forever," said Tiffany Haworth, DRBA's executive director.


"The takeaway from this meeting is very simple - the NAS report concluded that no
technology currently exists capable of eliminating all of the risks and uncertainties
associated with uranium mining, processing and waste storage. No regulations, no matter
how stringent, would be able to compensate for the lack of the right technology to make
the uranium operations disaster proof over the long term in Virginia's unpredictable
climate,” said Gene Addesso, the RRBA acting president. “The prudent course of action
for our elected officials is to keep the ban in place until the industry can demonstrate
beyond a reasonable doubt that the level of technology has caught up with the modern
society's expectation of complete safety.”
https://www.facebook.com/notes/roanoke-river-basin/water-groups-welcome-launch-of-5-month-public-outreach-by-national-academies-ura/358204260865496

Keep uranium mining moratorium intact

By Freeda Cathcart
Cathcart, of Roanoke, was a candidate for the 17th House of Delegates in 2011.


The National Academy of Sciences technical report emphasizes that it is imperative for the public to be involved from the beginning of a project, throughout the project and after the reclamation stage in order to make uranium mining and processing as safe as possible.

Officials with the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy decided they did not need to comply with the Administrative Process Act, which requires public notice and input when regulations are being considered, when they created a permit application form to authorize exploratory drilling for uranium in Coles Hill.

The 2008 exploratory drilling ignored the spirit of the moratorium on uranium mining, violating the public's confidence that our state government can be trusted with developing and implementing uranium mining and processing regulations that will protect the public. Virginia and our nation are not ready to mine and process uranium according to international best practices.

The Virginia General Assembly needs to pass legislation to notify the public when permits are being considered that would allow any mining or exploration, especially if it might disturb radioactive minerals or harmful gases.

The current law requires that mining applicants notify neighbors within 1,000 feet of a project, allowing 10 days for them to request a hearing. Some people in the area didn't learn about the dangers of exploratory uranium drilling until a rezoning hearing in January 2008. The public needs to be notified and given 30 days to request a public hearing to address any concerns about mining in their communities.

The NAS technical report provides important information about the ability of our nation to protect the health of miners. Miners are often exposed to radon during mining. President Ronald Reagan's assistant surgeon general and director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Dr. J. Donald Millar, said that even if the permissible exposure level was lowered to one-quarter of the 1987 standard, it still would not protect miners' health.

The NAS technical report states that a study conducted in 1994 provided convincing evidence that even if the Working Level Month was lowered to one-quarter of the 1987 standard, it would "not provide an acceptable health-based limit to protect worker health." It's been 25years since the recommendation was made to lower the standard rate to one-quarter of the 1987 standard to protect miners from the danger of exposure to radon that increases the risk of lung cancer. It is disturbing that the NAS reports that today's standard is the same as it was in 1987, ignoring the recommendation to protect the miners' health

The jobs that Virginia Uranium Inc. promises would not materialize for five to eight years. Currently, our nation is in a recovery and Southside would have a higher probability of attracting new industries if there wasn't a threat that the region might be subjected to the risks of uranium mining.

There are enough uranium resources to provide for more than 50 years of the world's nuclear energy needs, and much of it is produced by Australia and Canada. There is no current need to risk our environment and the public's health to introduce uranium mining to Virginia.

Any trust that the public might have had in the governor's directive to keep the ban in order to allow the public to vet the NAS report is shattered by his establishing a working group for uranium regulations. His directive states the group will "determine if additional resources are necessary ... once the regulations are implemented."

The spirit of the ban was already breached when the mining department allowed exploratory drilling. Now the governor is ignoring the ban and the General Assembly by proceeding with the creation of regulations to be implemented.

The governor and General Assembly need to close this chapter on exploring the possibility of uranium mining for several decades until our state and nation can prove that they can be trusted with implementing regulations according to international best practices that mandate the involvement of the public in order to protect the environment and the public's health.

Read more:
http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/commentary/wb/303950

Top 10 Endangered Places in the Southeast: Southside Virginia

Press Release January 26, 2012
More Info:Top Ten Endangered Places 2012

Top 10 Endangered Places in the Southeast Identified by the Southern Environmental Law Center

Unprecedented attacks on environmental safeguards pose #1 threat to South’s air, water, communities, and special places
Representing:  On Behalf of the Southern Environmental Law Center - Christy Nielson , 682-323-7826 (o) 206-399-1914 (c) or Christy@fourleafpr.com


Charlottesville – Charlottesville, Va. — January 26, 2012 — The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), the largest environmental advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the Southeast, today announced its fourth annual list of the top 10 places in the South that face immediate, potentially irreparable threats in 2012.

Many of the areas on SELC’s Top 10 list are endangered by pressure to undercut environmental protections and to lower the hurdles for potentially destructive projects, whether it’s fracking in the North Carolina Piedmont, uranium mining in Virginia, or deepwater drilling in the Gulf.


Top 10 Endangered Places in the Southeast for 2012



The following endangered areas were chosen from among hundreds of special places that the SELC is defending through its law and policy work in the six states of Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.

Alabama’s coast: Following the tragic BP spill, the government has returned to business as usual and is authorizing risky deepwater drilling projects under the same assumptions that failed in the Deepwater Horizon disaster. This approach is irresponsible, illegal, and poses an ongoing threat to Alabama’s beaches, marshes, wildlife, and coastal communities. 


Dawson Forest, Georgia: A costly, unnecessary proposed reservoir would siphon 100 million gallons per day from the Etowah River to fuel metro Atlanta’s unchecked sprawl, threatening prime habitat for endangered aquatic life, water supplies of downstream communities, and a popular recreation area.


Catawba-Wateree River Basin, North Carolina & South Carolina: The health of the Catawba-Wateree River, which provides drinking water for hundreds of thousands of residents of central North Carolina and South Carolina, faces an array of threats, including pollution from toxin-laden coal ash ponds, hydroelectric dams that will continue to disrupt stream flows and fish migration, water withdrawals that rob water from downstream farms and communities, and unnecessary reservoir projects that promote inefficient development and water use.

North Carolina Piedmont: The gas drilling industry and its allies in the North Carolina General Assembly are pushing hard to pass legislation that would expedite hydraulic fracturing (a.k.a. ‘fracking’) to extract natural gas, despite mounting evidence that the drilling technique, in the absence of appropriate regulatory controls, can lead to the contamination of groundwater and surface water. Potential fracking sites in North Carolina’s Piedmont are underneath or upstream from water supplies for 2.4 million people. 



Savannah River, South Carolina & Georgia: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ plan to deepen 38 miles of the Savannah River shipping channel would increase saltwater intrusion in the river and jeopardize freshwater marshlands in the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, drinking water supplies for Savannah and other communities, and habitat for endangered aquatic species. 
 
Chilhowee Mountain, Tennessee: The outdated plan for completing Corridor K between Chattanooga and Asheville includes a proposal to cut a new four-lane highway through the Cherokee National Forest near the Ocoee Gorge, even though improvements to the existing two-lane highway on its current footprint would be less damaging, less costly, and no less effective.

Chesapeake Bay, Virginia: For decades the Bay has suffered from pollution from all sides—air, land, and water. Unfortunately, industry interests and their political allies are doing all they can to impede a comprehensive rescue plan.

Mountains of Tennessee & Virginia: Mountaintop removal and other destructive coal mining practices have already destroyed at least 500 mountains and damaged 1,700 miles of streams in Virginia, Tennessee and other central Southern Appalachian states, and pressure continues to mount.

Charlottesville, Virginia & Surrounding Countryside: Local and state decision-makers are attempting to revive a wasteful, destructive and ineffective proposed bypass that would leave a permanent scar on one of the South’s most special communities.

Southside Virginia: An intense push to mine uranium in southern Virginia risks polluting drinking water supplies with radioactive and toxin-laden wastewater. Lifting the state’s ban on uranium mining could open up Virginia’s Piedmont countryside to more large-scale mining projects.


Read more:
http://www.southernenvironment.org/newsroom/press_releases/top_ten_01-26-12/

Uranium mining Headlines for Feb . 7

Uranium mining debate persists

Wednesday, February, 8, 2012; 9:59 PM
by Josh Higgins, news reporter

Gov. Bob McDonnell issued a directive last month establishing a plan to draft preliminary regulations on uranium mining and exacerbating the debate over the issues behind mining.
On Jan. 19, McDonnell asked staff from the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, the Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Health to create a working group to provide a scientific analysis of mining policy.
The purpose of this group is to “help the General Assembly assess whether the moratorium on uranium mining in the commonwealth should be lifted, and if so, how best to do so.”
The issues surrounding uranium mining have caused contention for years, with pro-mining advocates saying it is an economic opportunity, while environmentalists articulate concerns over the impact of mining on public health and the environment. Virginia’s moratorium, or temporary ban, on uranium mining has been in effect for nearly 30 years, after the first plans to mine the Coles Hill uranium deposit in Pittsylvania County, Va., started in the 1980s.
Article V, Section 8 of the Virginia Constitution permits the governor to obtain information from any executive or administrative department about anything pertaining to their work, and therefore, allows the governor to issue this directive. However, Andrew Lester, the executive director of the Roanoke River Basin Association, believes McDonnell has overstepped his power.
Lester said the plan does not give the public ample time to review the information about mining to make decisions and eats state money.
“We’re closing schools here in Pittsylvania County and Danville because of the lack of funding for schools,” he said. “Yet we’re closing schools because of low funding, and (the governor is) going to spend money on creating regulations?”
But the regulation is a step toward learning more about the effective uranium mining, Wales said.
“We will make ourselves available with our professional staff, our site and any information we have to this working group, so they can have the best information available to them to make the best decision on these draft regulations” Wales said.
Lester said no matter what regulations are created, there is no foolproof way to eliminate the risks of mining.
“They can be mitigated, but not eliminated,” Lester said. “The question I have is what does the word ‘mitigate’ mean? Does it mean that they can cut 75 percent of the impact? What does ‘mitigate’ mean? It’s like saying you’re a little bit pregnant.”
http://www.collegiatetimes.com/stories/19211/uranium-mining-debate-persists

Uranium Q&A: Best practices and worst-case scenarios

By Eva Cassada

SoVaNow.com / February 08, 2012

Halifax opponents of the Coles Hill uranium mine were out in force Tuesday night in Danville, where five of the scientists and staff responsible for the National Academy of Sciences uranium study took questions from a crowd of about 200.

Largely praised for their heavyweight report – which took many opponents by pleasant surprise with its skeptical undertone – the panel nevertheless repeatedly deflected questions with the response that their study wasn’t site-specific.

Speaker after speaker posed questions about best practices and worst-case scenarios: earthquakes, radiation exposure, worker safety, foreign influences, wildlife and who would pay the clean-up bill if anything disastrous happened.

As often as not, the refrain was similar: “I know we sound like a broken record in saying that,” said Paul Locke, the panel’s chairman and a professor at Johns Hopkins University.

Jack Dunavant of Halifax, leader of We the People, an unapologetically environmentalist group, wanted to know who would be responsible if a clean-up were warranted?

Answer: There are “very strict financial security requirements" on the company, plus the “complete life cycle” of the mine would be addressed in planning and regulating it.

Dunavant pressed on: But the tailings have to be contained for 80,000 years. “They’re gonna be responsible for 80,000 years?” he asked.

Locke deadpanned: “I won’t be here to tell you.”

Equally pointed was Dunavant’s daughter, Sarah Epps, also of Halifax.

She wanted an answer for her two teenage sons back home: Could mining be done safely here?

Again, the panel demurred.
http://www.sovanow.com/index.php?%2Fnews%2Farticle%2Furanium_qa_best_practices_and

Questions flow at Danville uranium meeting

By: Tara Bozick | GoDanRiver.com
Published: February 07, 2012 Updated: February 07, 2012 - 10:09 PM

Uranium mining and milling and its risks continue to leave residents asking questions about what would happen if Virginia Uranium Inc. develops the Coles Hill site.
About 200 people packed the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research on Tuesday night to hear the findings in the National Academy of Sciences’ report on uranium mining in Virginia and to ask questions of study panel members and staff.
Repeatedly, study committee chairman Paul Locke told residents many of their specific questions regarding impacts of the proposed Pittsylvania County project would need to be answered by a site-specific study.
“Nothing is as important as a site-specific study,” said John Cannon, chairman of the Halifax County Industrial Development Authority and president of The Virginia Coalition.
Cannon said he’ll take the questions raised at the meeting to legislators and a state workgroup that would be studying the issue and drafting a regulatory framework as requested by Gov. Bob McDonnell last month. The Virginia Coalition hired a lobbying firm and plans, as possible, to attend every public meeting of the workgroup to ensure questions are answered even after the NAS study committee disbands after hosting public meetings on its report, he added.
Cannon asked the NAS panel to host meetings in the Hampton Roads area as well.
Sarah Epps of Halifax asked if based on the NAS report, could she tell her two teenaged boys whether uranium mining can be done safely, as they live downstream of the proposed site on the Banister River. She added the report seems to say there is no guarantee of that.

http://www2.godanriver.com/news/2012/feb/07/questions-flow-danville-uranium-meeting-ar-1672034/

More questions than answers at Uranium Mining hearing:
(Danville, Va.) -- About three-dozen uranium mining opponents Tuesday night addressed a panel that released a major study on the issue back in December. Study Chairman Doctor Paul Locke with the National Academy of Sciences says their report did NOT focus specifically on the Coles Hill site in Pittsylvania County---nor did it explore whether a mine would be profitable. And he says nothing would happen overnight. He estimates a 5-to-8-year long process. The N.A.S report made no recommendations on whether Uranium Mining could be done safely, but indicted the state would have to overcome "steep hurdles" to make it viable. Governor Bob McDonnell is asking the state begin drawing up regulations for uranium mining before lawmakers consider lifting the moratorium.
http://www.wakg.com/AKG-News/7835718

Roanoke basin group weighs in on governor’s uranium regulations order

 

The Roanoke River Basin Association says Gov. Bob McDonnell’s order directing the development of statutory and administrative regulations for uranium mining and milling sidesteps Virginia law.

“The Virginia law unambiguously reserves the authority to lift the uranium ban to the state legislature and developing regulations ahead of the legislative vote may prove to be a complete waste of taxpayers’ money.

The Roanoke River Basin Association disapproves of Governor McDonnell’s action as premature and fiscally imprudent.”


By Rusty Dennen on January 27th, 2012 1:26 pm

Read more:
http://blogs.fredericksburg.com/waterearthsky/2012/01/27/roanoke-basin-group-weighs-in-on-governors-uranium-regulations-order/

Additional studies of Coles Hill

Additional studies of Coles Hill
By: The Editorial Board | GoDanRiver.com
Published: February 09, 2012 Updated: February 09, 2012 - 6:00 AM

The 200 people who attended the National Academy of Sciences uranium mining meeting this week were told that the Coles Hill site in Pittsylvania County needs more study.

"Nothing is as important as a site-specific study," John Cannon, chairman of the Halifax County Industrial Development Authority and president of The Virginia Coalition, said at the meeting.

That kind of methodical, plodding approach will not suit the people who only see the project’s estimated jobs and economic impact and think Virginia Uranium is a company that can help the Dan River Region today.

For the rest of us, uranium mining remains a big question mark.

The studies, like the one done by the NAS, were intended to be a starting point in the debate, not the last word. We haven’t found a sentence in one of them yet that reads: "Dig here, dig now; no harm will come to your community."

The truth of the matter is far more complex, made all the more troubling by Virginia Uranium’s deep pockets that have funded its newfound political influence in Richmond.

When’s the last time a potential new industry came to the Dan River Region and then spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to lobby members of the General Assembly?

People still want to know what they’ve always wanted to know — they want to know if uranium mining is safe. It doesn’t help to hear how much better uranium mines and mills are from just 30 years ago, when another company wanted to mine Coles Hill and also insisted that the procedures in place back then were safe.

If Virginia allows Coles Hill to be mined in the next few years, will the next Coles Hill-sized uranium deposit found somewhere else in 25 years also come with the assurance that uranium mining is much better and safer than it was way back in 2012?

These kinds of questions aren’t meant to bring on the dreaded "paralysis by analysis," but to ask what will happen to the land we love and the air and water we need.

We’re not talking about an industry that could supply good local jobs for generations to come.

When it’s done, it’s done, and our children and grandchildren will live with the choices that we make today.

For that reason alone, the methodical, plodding approach is the only thing that makes sense.

Everyone knows that local people are hurting financially, but tough times don’t last. What does is a uranium mine’s wastes. Those have to be watched for hundreds, if not thousands of years — long after the uranium is extracted from the hard rock under Coles Hill.

http://www2.godanriver.com/news/2012/feb/09/additional-studies-coles-hill-ar-1674874/

Canaries on the Rim: Living Downwind in the West

BOOK REVIEW
Canaries on the Rim
Living Downwind in the West

"... Ward's Canaries is a powerful warning for us all."

"In the deserts of the American West, you can find clear signs that key aspects of our culture are not viable and may even be suicidial. If practicing nuclear, chemical, and biological warfare has left the land littered and contaminated with radiation and spores still dangerous after forty years, then war, as designed during the Cold War, is unwinnable and uncontainable ...

— Canaries on the Rim

Twenty-seven years ago, Chip Ward and his wife, Linda, left the East Coast to explore the West. Impressed with the desert's stark beauty, the Wards decided to settle permanently in rural Utah. Little did they know that Grantsville, the sleepy town they chose to call home, sits right in the middle of one of the country's worst toxic dumping grounds.

In his new book, Canaries on the Rim: Living Downwind in the West, Ward recounts his slow awakening to the environmental hazards out his back door.

Two toxic waste incinerators, a hazardous waste landfill, a radioactive waste landfill, a bombing range, and a magnesium refinery are all within blowing distance of Grantsville.

The series of essay-like chapters in Canaries tells how under-regulated industries and the military take advantage of isolated and job-hungry communities on the rim of the Great Basin: Workers at Dugway Proving Grounds, the Army's chemical weapons testing grounds, routinely encountered nerve gas during the Cold War, and testing mishaps exposed surrounding residents to unknown quantities of the agent.

The smokestacks at Magacorp's magnesium refinery emit so much chlorine gas that employees don't drive to work because their cars quickly become corroded.

A health survey conducted by Ward and his neighbors revealed strikingly high rates of cancer, birth defects, and respiratory disease in Grantsville.

But Canaries also tells us how citizens are fighting back.

Local groups recently stopped a new incinerator and forced testing and emissions improvements at Magcorp's dioxin-laden facility.

In the end, Ward's Canaries is a powerful warning for us all. "If we burn and bury to avoid the implications of our behavior altogether, then the consequences will eventually be on your doorstep as well as mine," writes Ward. "If you don't want to buy a ticket to that show, heed the canaries on the rim."

Read now:
http://www.sric.org/workbook/V25_1/canary.html

McDonnell gives a push to mining

By: The Editorial Board | GoDanRiver.com
Published: February 05, 2012 Updated: February 05, 2012 - 6:00 AM


That’s fine for VUI, but for the rest of us watching the state government struggle to pay for schools, police and roads, we have to wonder why Virginia will now spend money developing regulations that will be used by a single company at a single site for something that’s currently not allowed in the commonwealth.


http://www2.godanriver.com/news/2012/feb/05/mcdonnell-gives-push-mining-ar-1662908/

RRBA’s Statement on Governor McDonnell’s Directive

January 26, 2012

RRBA STATEMENT ON GOVERNOR MCDONNELL DIRECTIVE TO
DEVELOP STATUTORY AND ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS FOR
URANIUM MINING AND MILLING

The Roanoke River Basin Association (RRBA) is a non-profit organization with a 67-year history of serving as the voice for the development, use, preservation, and enhancement of the Roanoke River Basin’s resources. The RRBA represents the two-state region that would host the first uranium mining and milling site east of the Mississippi if Virginia ’s 30-year ban on uranium mining is lifted. The RRBA has taken a lead role in the investigation of the proposed uranium mining and milling in the basin. The National Academy of Sciences report on uranium mining, released on December 19, 2011, has validated all of the concerns raised by the association and put Virginia’s legislators on notice of risks and uncertainties associated with allowing uranium mining and milling in Virginia’s unpredictable climate and of the inability of the modern day technology to eliminate all of those risks.

In its efforts to prevent uranium mining in the basin’s watershed, the RRBA has been joined by over 100 organizations and localities that have expressed their support for the uranium mining ban. Despite the general consensus among Virginia citizens and legislators that year 2012 should be devoted to conducting public meetings to educate the public on the findings of numerous uranium mining studies released late last year, the Governor of Virginia issued an executive order directing the development of statutory and administrative regulations for uranium mining and milling , thereby sidestepping the legislative process established by the Virginia law.

The Virginia law unambiguously reserves the authority to lift the uranium ban to the state legislature and developing regulations ahead of the legislative vote may prove to be a complete waste of taxpayers’ money. The Roanoke River Basin Association disapproves of Governor McDonnell’s action as premature and fiscally imprudent.

Section 45.1-283 of Virginia Code bans uranium mining “until a program for permitting uranium mining is established by statute.” This statutory

language was adopted 30 years ago by Virginia’s legislature for the public’s protection, to ensure that it is the legislature, not the executive branch, which

has the authority to establish governing principles of uranium mining regulations. To put it simply, our legislators’ predecessors in the General Assembly did not want the executive branch to dictate what should be put in the statutory regulations for uranium mining. Now to allow regulatory agencies to take the lead in developing the regulatory framework for uranium mining defeats the purpose of the statute and strips the public of the protections embodied in the Virginia law.

The danger of having the executive branch develop the regulatory framework for uranium mining is the lack of a meaningful opportunity for public involvement. Unfortunately, the Governor’s directive fails to fully address this issue; the directive lacks specific details on public comment opportunities and does not establish specific procedures for the working group to solicit and consider the public’s input. This runs counter to the NAS report’s recommendation “to ensure meaningful public involvement at each stage of the process.”

Among other serious shortfalls of the directive is that it sets unattainable objectives – develop statutory and administrative regulations for both uranium mining and milling in less than a year. We do not believe that anything meaningful can be developed within such a short period of time, especially with the limited resources and staff faced by Virginia’s state agencies in the current budget situation. For example, in states such as Colorado and New Mexico, which have a prior history of uranium mining, the development of the modern day uranium mining regulatory framework took years to complete. It is simply impossible to cram this process into a 10-month timeframe.

The lack of meaningful opportunities for public involvement, the ambitious deadline, the insurmountable scope of work make us question the Governor’s true intentions in regard to uranium mining – is it an attempt to press on with the unpopular project despite the lack of the votes in the legislature? Why are the taxpayers forced to pay for the regulation development absent the public and legislative approval?

The NAS report concluded that no technology currently exists capable of eliminating all of the risks and uncertainties associated with uranium mining, processing and waste storage. No regulations, no matter how stringent, would be able to compensate for the lack of the right technology to make the uranium operations disaster proof over the long term in Virginia’s unpredictable climate. The prudent course of action for our elected officials is to keep the ban in place until the industry can demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that the level of technology has caught up with the modern society’s expectation of complete safety.

The RRBA, its officers and members are committed to continuing our efforts to educate the basin stakeholders and legislators both in Virginia and North Carolina on the dangers of uranium mining. We are also committed to providing representation for the basin communities in all public forums addressing uranium mining.

Executive Committee, Roanoke River Basin Association
Address: PO Box 10548 , Danville , VA 24543

www.rrba.org
www.UpperReach.org


http://prod.rrba.org/