Uranium mining--they get the profits, we get the risks

September 18, 2012

The Danville Register & Bee reports, "The governor's office and state Sen. Bill Stanley are denying that Gov. Bob McDonnell worked behind the scenes to convince the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors to table a proposed resolution on uranium mining. Callands-Gretna Supervisor Jerry Hagerman taped an Aug. 31 phone call in which Stanley tried to persuade Hagerman to hold off on passing the resolution... In the 20-minute conversation that began at about 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 31, Stanley told Hagerman the governor told him to 'reach out' to supervisors on the matter. Stanley now says he 'misspoke' and the governor did not tell him to call board members."

Progressive Point: Leaders should be upfront with us on where they stand on issues that affect our health and safety. Bob McDonnell says he's not sure about uranium mining, but then why is he bullying local officials on behalf of his uranium industry campaign donors? Keeping the ban on uranium protects clean drinking water and keeps Virginia safe without risking our communities' health. Special interests want to remove the ban to make money off of risking our health.

Uranium mining isn't just a potential disaster for Southside. The operation could contaminate drinking water for families as far away as Chesapeake. We need honest leaders who work for us but Bob McDonnell isn't being straight with Virginians. He tells us one thing and then turns around and goes to bat for his campaign donors behind the scenes. We cannot afford to trade the agenda of a few special interests for the health and safety of Virginia families.

Get the Facts:

• Those communities against removing the uranium ban will include Chesapeake this week, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and Suffolk. (Richmond Times-Dispatch, September 12, 2012) The South Boston Town Council also approved a second $5,000 contribution this week to help keep the ban. (Gazette-Virginian, Sept. 10, 2012)


• Virginia Uranium, the company seeing to mine uranium in Virginia, has hired over a dozen lobbyists from five different firms and has donated over $150,000 to political campaigns in the last 4 years. (VPAP)


• Del. Donald Merricks, Del. Danny Marshall III, Del. James Edmunds, Del. Tommy Wright, and Sen. Frank Ruff all said in a letter to Virginia's General Assembly that the risk of uranium mining to the people of Virginia and its environment is too great and that the ban should not be lifted. (Virginian-Pilot, January 3, 2012)


• A recent NAS study validated the concern that a flood, hurricane, or earthquake could result in an uncontrolled release at a uranium facility--all three of which Virginia experienced last year. (Cale Jaffe, senior attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center, Keep the Ban, December 19, 2011)


• In 2009, the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors called for "a study to determine no harm would come to the county and its residents before the moratorium could be lifted... The resolution being discussed at Tuesday's board meeting stated the NAS study showed Virginia has no experience with uranium mining and there's no guarantee there would be no release of radioactive sediments downstream of the Coles Hill site and, therefore, the criteria of the original resolution in 2009 have not been satisfied." (Danville Register and Bee, September 5, 2012)

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