State Agencies Say Keep Uranium Ban In Place

The Virginia Municipal League and the Virginia Association of Counties are recommending that the General Assembly keep a 30-year ban on uranium mining in place. Virginia has had a moratorium on uranium mining since 1982 but a mining company is lobbying to have the General Assembly lift the ban so it can mine a 119-million-pound deposit in Pittsylvania County. The groups cited concerns about health and environmental issues related uranium mining, milling and disposal of radioactive-laced rock. The league represents all 39 cities, 157 towns and 10 counties, while the association represents the state’s 95 counties.