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VA Company Sues State to Mine Uranium

AP Photo/Steve Helber

For more than 30 years, Virginia has banned mining of uranium.  Now, the owner of a large uranium deposit in Pittsylvania County has filed suit, hoping to overturn that law.

Virginia Uranium, Inc. has tried for years to persuade the legislature that it can safely mine a large deposit of the radioactive ore.  The company has given nearly $370,000 to legislative campaigns since 2008, but when Governor Terry McAuliffe said he would veto any attempt to lift the ban on mining, Virginia Uranium filed suit in U.S. District Court.

Attorney Michael Kirk says federal law trumps state legislation.

“The Federal Atomic Energy Act vests exclusive regulatory jurisdiction over radiological safety issues with the Federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission.”

Environmental groups say the feds regulate processing of uranium, but states control mining.  Jacob Powell, director of the Virginia Conservation Network, notes that there are uranium operations in places with limited rainfall -- Utah, Wyoming and Texas – but he says  it’s not appropriate or safe here.

“Uranium mines are not without incident in other areas and frankly the risk is increased in a wet weather environment , and I think Virginians understand that and they’ve made the decision that the risk is not worth it.  They made that decision back in the 80s and they reaffirmed that decision over the past few years.”

And at the Roanoke River Basin Association, director Andrew Lester says Virginia can’t afford the risk of radioactive and heavy metal contamination of rivers and streams.

"So many communities depend on this water, including Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth and the military in Hampton Roads.”

Lawyer Michael Kirk says his client took no action for many years, because demand for uranium was down.

“There was a fairly lengthy period of time between the mid 80s and the mid 2000s when  because of developments, I think  primarily Chernobyl and Three Mile Island, the price of uranium was such that it wouldn’t have been economic to mine it in any event.”

But the market for uranium used to power nuclear plants is back, and the company is determined to profit from its south central Virginia mine.