Virginia commission will study uranium mining

As the demand for alternatives to imported energy sources keeps rising, many are looking to lift existing bans that would allow for exploration of domestic sources. This year has already seen the ban on offshore drilling lifted in many areas, and now Virginia may lift a statewide ban that prevents mining for uranium. Anita Kumar of The Washington Post writes, "Despite opposition from the General Assembly, a state commission will study whether more than 60,000 tons of uranium can be safely mined in rural south-central Virginia in what is thought to be the nation's largest undeveloped uranium deposit."

The state Coal and Energy Commission does not have the authority to lift the 25-year-old ban on uranium mining. That would have to be done by the legislature, which in March killed a study proposal. "The issue divided legislators along geographic lines rather than partisan ones," Kumar writes. "Many who represent areas where uranium has been found or whose drinking water could be affected voted against it, and many from other regions, including Northern Virginia, voted for it."

The deposits are found along Virginia's border with North Carolina. "Tests indicate that about 60,000 tons of uranium, worth $10 billion, are below the surface, the company says," adds Kumar. "That would be enough to supply all the country's nuclear power plants for about two years." Virginia Uranium has spent $100,000 to lobby for the project. Environmentalists and other advocates of the ban believe that the rainy climate and high population densities of the areas near the deposits make mining in the area too risky. (Read more)