May 21: Uranium Subcommittee To Meet in Richmond

Date: Thursday, May 21, 2009
Time: 2:30pm
Place: Virginia State Capitol, House Room D, Richmond, VA

Directions

The following article is available on the Gazette Virginian website.

Uranium Subcommittee To Meet May 21
by Tim Davis, editor of the Star-Tribune

National Academy Of Science To Present Final Scope Of Study Recommendations By May 4

The Virginia Coal and Energy Commission subcommittee studying the dangers and benefits of uranium mining will meet Thursday, May 21, in Richmond.

The meeting, which is open to the public, will begin at 2:30 p.m. in House Room D, said Del. Lee Ware of Powhatan, chairman of the Uranium Mining Subcommittee.

Dr. Michael Karmis will present the National Academy of Science's recommendations for the final scope of the study. Karmis is a professor in the Department of Mining and Minerals Engineering and director of the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. He presented the proposed study draft to the subcommittee in March after reviewing information from two earlier public hearings, including one in Chatham.

The National Academy of Science is expected to present its recommendations by May 4.

"Accordingly, these recommendations will be made available for review on the Coal and Energy Commission's Web site well in advance of the meeting," Ware said.

The May 21 meeting also will include time for public comment, the chairman said. At the subcommittee's last meeting, members voted unanimously to proceed with a tentative draft of the study's objectives. Once approved, the study is expected to take about two years.

In addition to Ware, members of the subcommittee include Del. Watkins Abbitt of Appomattox, Sen. John Watkins of Midlothian, Del. William R. Janis of Glen Allen, Del. Charles W. Carrico Sr. of Galax, Sen. Phillip P. Puckett of Tazewell, Del. Clarence E. Phillips of Castlewood, Del. Kristen J. Amundson of Fairfax County, Sen. Frank Wagner of Virginia Beach and Harry D. Childress. Childress, a citizen member on the Coal and Energy Commission, is the former head of the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy. Abbitt was a member of the original commission that studied uranium mining in the 1980s. The commission's chairman, Del. Terry Kilgore of Scott County, also serves on the subcommittee as an ex-officio member.

Pittsylvania County is home to one of the largest uranium deposits in the United States. The Coles Hill uranium deposit, about six miles northeast of Chatham, was discovered in the early 1980s.

In 2007, the Coles and Bowen families, who own the ore, formed Virginia Uranium Inc. in hopes of mining the uranium, which at that time was worth between $8 billion and $10 billion.

Before the deposit can be mined, however, the General Assembly would have to lift Virginia's moratorium on uranium mining, which has been in place since 1982.

The Uranium Mining Subcommittee held a public hearing at Chatham High School in early January to receive input on the study. More than 400 people attended the meeting.

The study objectives are "to assess the scientific and technical aspects of uranium mining, milling and processing in Virginia and associated environmental, human health, safety and regulatory issues."

According to the draft, the study will consider uranium supply and demand trends and projections, worldwide uranium deposits and operations, and uranium mining, milling and processing technologies.

It also will take into account occupational and public health and safety, environmental considerations, social and economic impacts, and security standards and procedures.

http://www.pecva.org/anx/index.cfm/1,266,2252,-1,html

First Phase of Mining Study Approved Unanimously

By John Crane

March 24, 2009

The Virginia Coal and Energy Commission’s Uranium Mining Subcommittee took a critical step Tuesday toward a study to determine whether uranium can be mined and milled safely in the commonwealth.

The subcommittee unanimously approved a draft of the study’s first phase outlining the technical and scientific aspects of the analysis that Michael Karmis, director of the Center for Coal and Energy Research at Virginia Tech, said would take about 18 months.

However, the second portion of the study that would address the socioeconomic aspects of uranium mining and milling will be decided upon at a later date, Delegate Lee Ware, R-Powhatan, said after the meeting held in the General Assembly Building.

More than 100 people attended the 2 1/2-hour meeting, including opponents of uranium mining and representatives of Virginia Uranium Inc., which seeks to mine and mill a 119-million-pound uranium ore deposit at Coles Hill, six miles northeast of Chatham.

Before the subcommittee approved the study draft, Karmis said he would take it to the National Research Council for discussion. The NRC is under the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine.

The NRC would seek and identify nationally renowned scientific experts to perform the study, Karmis said.

He said the technical half of the study will look at global, national and state supply/demand trends and projections, as well as costs and market aspects. Study topics also will include uranium mining and milling technologies, local groundwater and surface-water monitoring, mine-site monitoring, and post-mining land use and monitoring.

Economic benefits vs. safety

Delegate Kristen Amundson, D-Mount Vernon, questioned giving the economic aspects of the issue priority when safety and environmental matters should be the main focus.

Delegate Watkins Abbitt, I-Appomattox, said the marketing aspects of uranium mining should be left for the private sector to study and if mining uranium is found to be unsafe, examining its costs and benefits would be a waste of time.

Karmis said it’s important to develop a background of uranium and milling as it’s been conducted in other places.

Sen. Frank Wagner, R-Virginia Beach, said the economic part of the study is important.

“I think we have to ensure there is a market for it (uranium)” he said.

Karmis said he would get technical input from the NRC and report back to the subcommittee.

More than 20 people, including residents of Pittsylvania County, aired their concerns about uranium mining and milling at Coles Hill.

Pittsylvania County resident Sue Poe, whose ancestors settled in the county in the mid-1700s, asked the subcommittee not to let the county become an experiment. Uranium may be harmless in its natural state, but it becomes hazardous when it’s removed from the ground and mined and milled, Poe said.

Virginia Uranium spokesman and geologist Patrick Wales pledged the company’s cooperation with the NRC.

Corning’s upcoming closing at the end of the year in the Danville area will leave 200 more people jobless in a region already suffering from high unemployment, Wales said, illustrating the need for uranium mining’s economic benefits.

‘Uncover everything’

Three representatives from the Dan River Region also expressed their concerns.

Sen. Robert Hurt, R-Chatham, whose father, Henry Hurt, is an investor in VUI, asked Karmis to consider the role of federal eminent domain in the issue.

He wanted to know what would happen if the federal government decided to come and take the property. In addition, Hurt said there are a lot of unknowns surrounding the issue, and it’s critical to look at the issue from a statewide perspective.

“It’s important to identify what we don’t know,” he said.

Delegate Danny Marshall, R-Danville, said safety is paramount.

“Everything else is secondary,” he said.

Delegate Don Merricks, R-Pittsylvania County, said this study is one instance where micromanaging can be a good thing.

“Uncover and hear every concern,” Merricks said. “Uncover everything, but also address economic concerns.”

Ware agreed and said the study must remain free of undue influence.

“It’s important this study is done without the glare of politics,” he said.

Contact John R. Crane at jcrane@registerbee.com or (434) 791-7987

http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/local/danville_news/article/first_phase_of_of_study_approved_unanimously/9958/

Va. Mining Committee Discusses Safe Uranium Mining

Gotta love VUI's creativity. Mining opponents are now the "mob-ocracy" courtesy of VUI's Mick Mastilovic. Cute, Mick!

By Ray Reed

Published: March 24, 2009

RICHMOND — A state panel studying uranium mining agreed on a framework Tuesday for a scientific study of whether uranium can be mined safely in Virginia.

Three members of the Uranium Mining Subcommittee argued, however, that a recommendation to include the mineral’s price as part of the study should wait until after scientists determine whether uranium can be removed safely from the ground.

About two dozen residents of Pittsylvania County also voiced their opposition to digging up a deposit in the county.

Deborah Lovelace told the committee, which includes nine members of the General Assembly, that she had “some very disturbing information” about changes in wells at homes near the site outside of Chatham where ore samples were drilled last year.

Tests of the wells, which were paid for by Virginia Uranium Inc., produced several results showing levels of metals and minerals, including lead, in the water had increased after the drilling, Lovelace said.

About 80 wells were tested. Lovelace mentioned results from 18 of them.

Patrick Wales, a spokesman for Virginia Uranium, said the company’s drilling for core samples didn’t cause the effects reported in the wells.

“We have reviewed the data and can state categorically that our permitted drilling activities have nothing to do with these lead levels,” Wales said.

“Wells with reported lead levels in the water are all in geologically and hydrologically isolated areas that are unaffected by activities conducted by our company,” Wales said.

Lead in water can come from many sources, including household plumbing, he said.

Allen Gross, who lives about a mile from the uranium site on Walter Coles’ farm, said the levels of 17 metals increased in his well, and the amount of lead rose above federal safety levels. Gross said he wondered why that happened.

“We’re not saying Mr. Coles did this,” Lovelace said, but she said a cause should be found.

Coy Harville, chairman of the Pittsylvania County Supervisors, told the commission the county needs new jobs that a mine would bring. He also said, “I want to commend the people of Pittsylvania County on their mannerisms today.”

The atmosphere in the Richmond room was quiet. Harville said a meeting of the subcommittee in Chatham on Jan. 6 had a more outspoken atmosphere, as people talked about polluting streams and air and damaging the region’s farms and other assets.

Mick Mastilovic, a vice president of Virginia Uranium, urged the committee to let science, not emotions, direct the study.

“Mob-ocracy was raised in Chatham” during the Jan. 6 meeting, Mastilovic said.

Members of the subcommittee debated how the study should proceed, and said the framework they adopted can be altered.

The study’s framework was presented by Michael Karmis, a professor of mining engineering at Virginia Tech.

“The whole idea is to go the the experts” in the field of uranium mining, Karmis said.

Those experts can be found by contacting the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Karmis said. The NRC can recommend impartial scientists to evaluate the Coles Farm deposit, whether it can be mined safely and how, Karmis said.

If those answers were to indicate safe mining is feasible, a second study by another group should be done to evaluate the socio-economic impacts mining on Pittsylvania County’s quality of life, jobs and property values, Karmis said.

The next step in the process involves Karmis contacting the NRC to set up talks with scientists about how the study should proceed.

Del. Lee Ware, R-Powhatan and chairman of the subcommittee, said it has the authority to proceed with having the scientists do the actual study.

The scientists would be members of the National Academy of Sciences, Karmis said.

The committee’s own debate focused mostly on Karmis’ assertion that uranium’s price should be included in the study. He said mining won’t occur unless the mineral’s value exceeds the cost of mining.

Del. Watkins Abbitt, I-Appomattox, objected immediately, saying “I thought our first charge was to find out whether it can be mined safely.” Prices should be discussed afterward, he said, suggesting that the prospect of profits could override safety.

Del. William Janis, R-Richmond, also argued against making price a key part of the study. “We’re wasting our time looking at other things if we find it can’t be mined safely,” he argued.

State Sen. Frank Wagner, R-Virginia Beach, said the study should look at all mining factors, including economic viability.

“I’m not looking to slide safety the least bit in terms of price,” said Wagner, who led a study two years ago that helped place uranium high among priorities in Virginia’s energy policy.

Both Wagner and Janis were Navy officers who served on nuclear submarines.

http://www.newsadvance.com/lna/news/local/article/va._committee_discusses_safe_uranium_mining/14610/

More Info on Scope of Mine Study Commission's Meeting Set for March 24 in Richmond

By John Crane

Published: March 5, 2009

The Virginia Coal and Energy Commission’s Uranium Mining Subcommittee, tasked with studying the safety and hazards of uranium mining in the state, will hold a meeting March 24 in Richmond.

The meeting will be held at 2 p.m. in House room C in the General Assembly Building and will be open to the public, Delegate Lee Ware, R-Powhatan and chairman of the committee, said Wednesday.

Michael Karmis, director of the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research at Virginia Tech, will present a proposal for the study’s scope, or the range of scientific questions to be answered in it, to the 10-member subcommittee. Karmis and the subcommittee also will discuss choices for who would perform the economic part of the study, Ware said.

The Virginia Coal and Energy Commission approved a study in November to determine whether uranium can be mined and milled safely in the commonwealth.

Virginia Uranium Inc. seeks to mine and mill a 119-million-pound ore deposit on Coles Hill about six miles northeast of Chatham. The state has had a moratorium on the practice since the early 1980s.

The subcommittee held a public hearing in Richmond in December and another at Chatham High School in January to gather questions residents want answered in the study. Subcommittee members will again seek public input during the March 24 meeting, Ware said.

He said the subcommittee wants the National Academy of Sciences to conduct the study’s scientific portion.

“We certainly hope the National Academy of Sciences would undertake the study,” Ware said.

The study, in the “warm-up phase,” would take about two years, he said.

Ware said the subcommittee would consider Karmis’ proposal and make a decision at the meeting, or at a later date if revision of the study’s parameters is needed. The next step would be to have Karmis contact the NAS and ask the academy to launch the study, he said.

http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/local/danville_news/article/mining_group_to_meet_march_24/9501/

Meeting Notice: Virginia House of Delegates, Uranium Mining Subcommittee of the Coal and Energy Commission

02/28/2009

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

HOUSE OF DELEGATES
OFFICE OF THE CLERK
RICHMOND

TO: Uranium Mining Subcommittee of the Coal and Energy Commission

FROM: William L.Owen, House Committee Operations

RE: Meeting Information

Please be advised that the Uranium Mining Subcommittee of the Virginia Commission on Coal and Energy will meet on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. in House Room D In the General Assembly Building in Richmond, Virginia.

Should you have questions regarding the meeting agenda, please call Ellen Porter with the Division of Legislative Services at (804) 786-3591. If you are unable to attend this meeting , please call House Committee Operations at (804) 698-1540 or contact me via e-mail bowen@house.virginia.gov

Members:

The Honorable R. Lee Ware, Jr, chairman
The Honorable Charles W. Carrico, Sr.
The Honorable William R. Janis
The Honorable Watkins M. Abbitt, Jr.
The Honorable Kristen J. Amundson
The Honorable Clarence E. Phillips
The Honorable John C. Watkins
The Honorable Phillip P. Puckett
The Honorable Frank W. Wagner
Harry D. Childress

cc: The Honorable Bruce F. Jamerson
The Honorable Susan Clarke Schaar
Frank Munyan, Legislative Services
Ellen Porter, Legislative Services