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Hurt Town Council plowed into the uranium issue last week by adopting a resolution against lifting Virginia's moratorium on mining without substantial assurance against negative impacts.
Meeting Feb. 3, council's resolution also supported "an unbiased, scientific study of the potential impacts of uranium mining and milling in Virginia" by an independent group, like the National Academy of Sciences. It also laid out conditions for the study, including representation by the town.
Pittsylvania County is home to what is believed to be the largest uranium deposit in the United States. That deposit about six miles northeast of Chatham is worth an estimated $10 billion. Virginia Uranium Inc. was formed two years ago to explore the possibility of mining the material.
On Monday, Virginia Uranium sent out a news release saying the skilled workforce needed for a uranium operation is available in Southside Virginia.
Following last week's meeting, Councilman Tommy Neal said he moved to adopt the resolution because Hurt residents don't want a nearby uranium operation.
"And we represent the town citizens. ... If they're going to mine that stuff around here, they need to make sure it's safe," Neal said.
The resolution passed in a 5-0 vote. Councilwoman Lorraine (Rainy) Clay was absent. The vote came after council heard from uranium opponents and Virginia Uranium officials.
Deborah Lovelace, one of several opponents at the meeting, said later she was overjoyed by council's action. She said the resolution shows the General Assembly the town cares about the issue.
"The citizens that are going to be affected should certainly have a say in the study process at the very least and whether they even want a mine and milling operation after a fair and unbiased study is done," Lovelace said.
"We need representation on any kind of study," Lovelace said later.
Besides town representation, the resolution said the study process should be open to the public and press, must evaluate risks of uranium mining, including what would happen during natural events like floods, and determine whether the mining and milling could be done in a way that will protect the environment and citizens.
Council also said it opposed lifting the moratorium unless there is "a reasonable degree of scientific certainty that there will be no significant release of radioactive sediments downstream or in the air under any circumstances." The moratorium was enacted in 1982.
"We don't need to stand back and let someone else do all of our homework for us," said Hurt resident Steve Worley, who read the resolution to council. "Maybe we need to do some, too." He said he's concerned about the health effects and real estate values.
Another town resident, Ed Shelton, urged council not to do anything until the just-started study by the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission is completed. He said uranium is going to be mined because it will be needed for energy.
Two representatives of Virginia Uranium, Henry Hurt and Patrick Wales, were also at the meeting.
Wales, a geologist and project manager, said health is a paramount concern for the company.
He suggested council didn't need to pass a resolution since a scientific, unbiased study had already started. He said Virginia Uranium is glad to see the study under way. He also gave council a resolution supporting the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission's study.
Wales said the study won't automatically lift the moratorium, but will give the General Assembly, regulators and the public the facts to make a better decision. He said if the moratorium is lifted, regulations will have to be written and permits issued, a process that could take up to four years.
On Monday, Virginia Uranium reported that an independent panel of experts had found that the skilled workers needed for development of uranium in the county is available.
"Mining personnel can reasonably be recruited from the local area as the skill sets needed for miners exist already among people and companies who are comfortable with faming and heavy equipment," the news release quoted the report.
"This is important news for our company as well as this region," said Norm W. Reynolds, chairman and chief executive officer of Virginia Uranium. "We are all painfully aware of the unemployment figures in the city of Danville, Pittsylvania, Halifax and Henry counties where we could expect to draw the bulk of our 400-500 workers, if the Commonwealth of Virginia decides to permit the development of the Coles Hill resource."
STORY BY MARK THOMAS/ALTAVISTA JOURNAL EDITOR
http://www.wpcva.com/articles/2009/02/11/altavista/news/news93.txt
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