Ask all the right questions

For more than a year, Walter Coles Sr., the employees of his company, Virginia Uranium Inc., and its local supporters and investors said they wanted Virginia to study uranium mining.

Coles got the state study he asked for — but now it’s time for everyone involved to make sure all the right questions are going to be asked.

The Virginia Coal and Energy Commission’s Uranium Mining Subcommittee will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. at Chatham High School to find out from local people what questions the study should try to answer.

Think of tonight’s public hearing as a study of the study, an important first step toward figuring out if uranium can be safely mined in an area like ours using today’s technology. History tells us that it can’t. Coles and his supporters believe it can.

That’s been the debate for the past 15 months, but that ongoing debate has been unfair to all sides involved.

Because of the state’s moratorium on uranium mining, Virginia Uranium can’t tap into what’s believed to be the largest deposit of uranium ore in the United States. Uranium mining supporters believe the only way to get the moratorium lifted is to prove that uranium can be mined and milled safely in Virginia. For that reason, they’ve asked for the state to study the issue.

Uranium mining opponents are also poorly served by the current impasse. They believe the uranium mining industry hasn’t done enough over the past 25 years to make mining safe in Virginia. They know the moratorium can be overturned anytime the General Assembly meets.

So for both sides, it’s important that every question and concern be addressed by the study. That’s why tonight’s meeting is so important.

The stakes are also high for the members of the Uranium Mining Subcommittee. They need to get this study right, because an incomplete or biased study will only add to the controversy and waste a lot of time and money. Only by asking every question and examining every issue can the Dan River Region — and the General Assembly — make an informed decision about the future of uranium mining in Virginia.

Don’t be surprised if there are a lot of fireworks tonight. This is an emotional topic for all sides. Passions are running high. People on both sides are angry and frustrated.

But the best way for everyone to deal with that anger and frustration is to come up with good questions for the study to answer. If you care about uranium mining in Virginia, Chatham High School is the place to be tonight.

The Uranium Mining Subcommittee will welcome written comments on the study’s scope until Monday, Jan. 19.

Mail: Coal & Energy Commission, c/o Ellen Porter, Division of Legislative Services, 910 Capitol St., Richmond, VA 23219

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