The Virginia Coalition is a diverse group of current Southside Virginia job creators who are concerned about the health of our employees and workforce, as well as our future ability to recruit new companies and employees into the region given the health implications of uranium mining. We are CEO's, business owners, entrepreneurs, economic developers and current and former legislators who have a simple request: READ The Reports before voting on a matter with such far reaching ramifications.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) —
Legislators, business leaders and medical professionals from Southside Virginia are asking the General Assembly to take no action in the 2012 session on a 30-year-old state ban on uranium mining.
Known collectively as the Virginia Coalition and the Alliance for Progress in Southern Virginia, they made the appeal Wednesday at a news conference in Richmond.
They said Virginia legislators have not had enough time to fully analyze a series of reports on uranium mining. They also asked Gov. Bob McDonnell to establish a study panel to review all the reports and make a recommendation.
Virginia Uranium Inc. has proposed mining a 119-million pound deposit in Pittsylvania County. The General Assembly is expected to consider lifting the ban but the bill-filing deadline for the 2012 session is days away.
Virginia Uranium responded to the Richmond News Conference with a statement from Project Manager Patrick Wales Wednesday afternoon. Here is the full text of the company's statement:
Statement in Response to the Coalitions’ Press Conference
By Patrick Wales, Project Manager
For the past four years Virginia Uranium has worked with one main objective in mind: the comprehensive development of robust regulations for uranium mining in Virginia that ensure the protection of public health and the environment, including air and water quality. Our company agrees that there are many questions that need to be addressed before it receives a single permit or license to operate a uranium mine and mill in Virginia. The ultimate lifting of the legislative moratorium on uranium mining would allow the adoption of regulations under which these questions can be answered.
No business of any sort can be expected to develop specific plans for a proposed operation – and no community can be expected to fully evaluate the potential risks of those plans – without knowing the laws and regulations by which they will be protected and governed.
This is why we continue to urge the General Assembly and the Governor to embrace the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). The NAS recommends that the state develop a rigorous regulatory framework and conduct multiple site specific studies, through the rigorous process of developing the Environmental Impact Statement, to determine all potential risks and impacts to the environment before awarding a single permit or license for our proposed project. This process can only begin once state agencies develop regulations and licensing criteria for uranium mining.
The Southside business leaders who spoke today, many of whom are involved in heavily regulated industries including health care, banking and industrial waste management, know well how this process works. The Commonwealth and the Federal Government mandate standards that will ensure the protection of public health and the environment. As these business leaders know, those standards must be met in order for a company to operate. At that point it is the industry’s obligation to present site-specific studies and plans to show how they will meet those standards. Currently, the only way to determine these standards and whether they can be met is by instructing the state agencies to develop regulations.
Two groups are expressing their concerns about uranium mining in Virginia.
NEWS7's Joe Dashiell is at the news conference.
Check back later for more updates.
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Two groups are scheduled to speak out on their concerns about ending Virginia's 30-year ban on uranium mining.
The Virginia Coalition and the Alliance for Progress in Southern Virginia have scheduled a news conference in Richmond on Wednesday to outline their concerns.
The groups describe their membership as job creators and current and past members of the General Assembly. They say they're concerned about the health of their workers and the economic future of the region if uranium mining is allowed.
Virginia Uranium Inc. has proposed mining a 119-million pound deposit in Pittsylvania County. The General Assembly is expected to consider lifting the ban but the bill-filing deadline for the 2012 session is days away.
Most opposition to uranium mining has been based on environmental concerns.
Authors: Read the Reports
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