VA uranium mining and NC water
General Assembly Press Release:
Nationwide conservation group American Rivers announced Tuesday its annual list of the top 10 most endangered rivers in the United States. Our own Roanoke River earned the dubious honor of being named Number 3 on that list. The designation comes due to the fact that our neighboring state of Virginia appears poised to lift its 30-year ban on uranium mining within the state, which shares the Roanoke River with North Carolina.
One of the first sites to be mined if the ban is lifted is in southern Virginia near the river at Danville. Conservation and public health advocates have expressed concern that radioactive sediment, or tailings, from mining and processing could contaminate not only the river itself, but Kerr Lake and Lake Gaston, posing a threat to drinking water sources for several cities and towns in both states.
Opponents of the ban maintain that the uranium can be mined and processed safely and that the new mining and milling facilities will bring much-needed jobs to an economically depressed area. However, those benefits would go to our neighbors in Virginia, potentially leaving North Carolina to face the negative environmental impacts downstream. The issue has been getting increasing attention in the news lately because of the American Rivers study, and WRAL recently interviewed Gene Addesso of the Roanoke River Basin Association about the potential threat mining could pose to the river. A link to the interview is http://www.wral.com/news/local/video/9614329/#/vid9614329
The City of Virginia Beach commissioned a study on the potential impacts uranium production would have on its drinking water supply, which includes Lake Gaston. While no such study has yet been conducted in North Carolina, the Virginia Beach study led the city council to pass a resolution opposing the removal of the mining ban. Several municipalities in North Carolina have followed suit, including Henderson, Franklinton, and Warrenton. Because of these concerns, Sen. Ed Jones, an Enfield Democrat, and I have introduced Senate Joint Resolution 430, which would establish a commission to study the potential impact on our state. You can read and track the bill on the General Assembly website http://ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2011&BillID=S430