By Peter Galuszka

Jerry A. Hagerman, a supervisor in Pittsylvania County which is at the center of a battle over proposed uranium mining, says that State Sen. Bill Stanley (pictured) told him that Gov. Robert F. McDonnell asked Stanley to lobby the county Board of Supervisors to shelve a resolution regarding uranium at its Sept. 4 meeting. Hagerman says he has a taped telephone call from Stanley to prove it.

Both Stanley and Jeff Caldwell, McDonnell’s press secretary, told me emphatically on Sept. 13 that no one in the governor’s office had spoken with Stanley about asking the board to drop the resolution from their agenda.

Among other things, the resolution would have asked the state to set up a fund to reimburse local residents impacted by any future uranium mining accident and that appropriate state or federal mining regulations be in place.

“Bill Stanley called me at 10:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 31 to ask me to go along with shelving the resolution. I was surprised and upset by his call,” Hagerman told me. The resolution had been placed on the county’s Website on that day as part of the upcoming meeting agenda.

Hagerman tape recorded the Stanley call and played it for me. In the call, Stanley is heard to say distinctly that he did speak with McDonnell regarding the county uranium resolution.

You don’t have to be a local farmer, homeowner or someone who drinks water from a well to understand the potential environmental danger that a uranium mine and mill at Coles Hill could cause.

The Alliance for Progress in Southern Virginia, a group of businessmen, community leaders, farmers and concerned citizens released the results of a poll Thursday showing that local opposition to Virginia Uranium Inc.’s project has topped 50 percent in the Dan River Region.

The poll asked, "[D]o you think uranium mining should be allowed in the Danville/Pittsylvania County area or should it not be allowed in the area?"

The result was 29 percent yes, and 53 percent no.

The Chesapeake City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to affirm opposition to uranium mining in the state. Chesapeake joins Suffolk, Virginia Beach and Norfolk in calling for a continuation of a ban of uranium mining.

Councilwoman Ella Ward called for the city's action. Virginia Uranium Inc. is seeking state approval to mine at Coles Hill. The site is upstream of Lake Gaston, which opponents say could contaminate water after a severe weather event.

The company is asking the state to lift a moratorium in place since 1982 and develop regulations for uranium mining.

Read more http://hamptonroads.com/2012/09/chesapeake-tightens-rules-overbudget-projects

The City Council added its voice to those of other Hampton Roads cities calling for the continuation of a 30-year ban on uranium mining in Virginia.

By a unanimous vote, the council adopted a resolution Wednesday that opposes the mining and milling of uranium in Pittsylvania County, which it described as a potential threat to the region's water supply.

The action came in response to an effort by Virginia Uranium Inc. to get state approval to mine an estimated 119-million-pound uranium ore deposit at Coles Hill, about six miles northeast of Chatham. The site is upstream from Lake Gaston, which provides one-third of the drinking water supplied to Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake. Suffolk buys water from Norfolk through the Western Tidewater Water Authority.

In Colorado and Virginia residents debate whether proposed uranium mills will help or hinder their economies.

by Rose Jenkins

To reach the place where an entire town had been dismantled and buried in a Superfund cleanup, I traveled through coils of red rock canyons—sheer cliffs that enclosed the Dolores and San Miguel Rivers in southwest Colorado. My guide, Jennifer Thurston, who directs of a mining watchdog group called INFORM Colorado, told me that the tops of these mesas are dotted with old uranium mines—mines that once fed ore to the mill at Uravan.

Rough gravel roads took us to the spot on the San Miguel River where the town of Uravan used to be, the the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state of Colorado determined the town to be so contaminated that it was unsafe for people to live there. The town, which was home to over 600 people, was evacuated as part of a Superfund cleanup spanning 1986 to 2008. Then every structure—the mill, schools, houses, playgrounds—was torn down, shredded, and buried. Today, the site is off-limits, barricaded by barbed wire fences and yellow signs that warn of radioactive exposure.

You are cordially invited to a

Fundraiser to Fight Uranium Mining

in Virginia

Saturday September 15, 2012

5:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Please join us for:

Music from Dane Ferguson, 6th N Main and More

Live and silent auctions * Great Food * Educational Information

And most importantly…the opportunity to help secure our health, environment and way of life in Virginia!

Individual Ticket Price $75

Corporate Tables $2500
Includes:
Admission for 10 * Priority Seating * Valet Parking * Local Wine on Table

Available Sponsorship Levels:

Banister $10,000   •   Staunton $5,000   •   Dan $1,000   •   Hyco $500   •   Patron $250   •   Sponsor $100

At the home of:

James and Jennifer Edmunds

10025 River Road Halifax, VA 24558

All proceeds go directly to the Virginia Coalition
to Keep The Ban on uranium mining in Virginia

Please RSVP to Sheila Bradley by September 7, 2012 at 434-476-0077 or
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Click here to download the invitation/contribution form.