Environmentalists are waving a red flag in their fight to prevent uranium mining in Virginia, claiming there’s a chance toxins from mine operations could make their way into Fairfax County’s water supply if the ban is lifted. Mining company Virginia Uranium is asking the state to lift a statewide ban on uranium mining so that it can access $7.5 billion worth of deposits in southern Virginia’s Pittsylvania County. But, as they rally opposition to lifting the ban, environmentalists are circulating maps showing that, without the ban, uranium could be mined in Northern Virginia as well.
Nathan Lott, of the environmental group KeeptheBan.org, called the Pittsylvania site “a camel’s nose under the tent,” suggesting that once the ban is lifted Virginia Uranium would be free to mine in Northern Virginia as well.
“It’s a bigger can of worms than I think people recognize,” he said.
The environmentalists created a map showing uranium deposits in Northern Virginia based on a decades-old federal study and now-expired leases taken out by mining companies in the 1980s. The map shows deposits in Fauquier County along Cedar Run, which flows into the Occoquan River in Prince William County and on to the Fairfax County Water Authority’s Occoquan Reservoir.
Keeptheban.org displayed the map at a meeting last week in Arlington to rally opposition to lifting the ban.
“To be sure, that is of utmost concern and importance,” said Del. Ken Plum, D-Reston, who said he didn’t know about the uranium in the Fairfax watershed until the meeting. “If we were voting today, I would not vote to lift the ban.”
Even those who oppose lifting the ban, however, remained skeptical about uranium mining coming to Northern Virginia.
“I think the information about it is unclear,” said Del. David Englin, D-Alexandria. “I think there’s some confusion between a site that was leased 30 years ago for exploration and a site where there might actually be uranium.”
Virginia Uranium insists it wants only to mine in Pittsylvania County, the state’s only economically viable uranium site.
“We’ve got 119 million pounds of uranium we can’t do anything with, so that’s enough for us,” said Patrick Wales, the company’s project manager. “I think it’s unfortunate that we have these environmental organizations that are pursuing their agenda that is not based on facts and not based on science.”
State geologist William Lassetter agreed that the company owned Virginia’s only viable site, but with a caveat: It’s the only viable site that is known.
“Since the mid-’80s, there has been virtually no exploration in the state, and none of the modern exploration techniques have been applied because of the moratorium,” he said. “The existence of undiscovered deposits that might be economically viable is really unknown.”
The General Assembly is expected to make a decision on lifting the ban early next year.
