Star-Tribune Editor – September 5, 2012
A proposed resolution on uranium mining was pulled from the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors’
agenda Tuesday night after it was “sabotaged,” one supervisor said.
Banister District Supervisor Jessie Barksdale and Staunton River District Supervisor Marshall Ecker drafted the resolution.
It was on the board’s agenda, but was removed by Barksdale at the beginning of the meeting. “Mr. Ecker and I agreed to remove the resolution from the agenda because there is still strong opposition from some
members of the board who will never vote in favor of any resolution on uranium mining, especially if it states keep the moratorium,” said Barksdale, who was clearly disappointed.
Barksdale and Ecker developed the resolution after the board held a public forum on uranium mining
and milling in July.
“We reviewed the comments and captured the essence of the citizens’ concerns,” Barksdale said. He and Ecker, with help from the county’s attorney, Vaden Hunt, developed the resolution on uranium mining “in confidence only to find out later that there was no confidentiality,” Barksdale said.
“In my opinion, we were doomed to fail even before we started, and all because certain elected officials
have taken a donothing position so as to not reveal their true identity or interest pertaining to uranium
mining in Pittsylvania County,” he said.
As news of the resolution spread, opposition surfaced from board members as well as state lawmakers, and even the governor’s office, Barksdale said.
“I’m still trying out figure out what happened,” he said. “How did they learn about the resolution
so quickly? Why did they not contact the two supervisors who developed the resolution? The word sabotage sticks in my mind.”
The proposed resolution said it is “absolutely clear, based upon the National Academy of Sciences and
other studies, that it cannot be demonstrated to a reasonably degree of certainty that there would be no significant release of radioactive sediments downstream of the Coles Hill site under any circumstances, and therefore, that the criteria in the resolution adopted by the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors on Feb. 17, 2009, have clearly not been satisfied. “The Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors wants to reaffirm the importance of protecting its citizens should the moratorium on
uranium mining and milling be lifted in the state of Virginia or only in Pittsylvania County,” the resolution continued, noting that local government is responsible for the health, welfare, and
safety of citizens.
The resolution asked that a monetary fund be established — administered by a third party — to compensate
county citizens affected by uranium mining and milling within a five-mile radius of Virginia Uranium Inc.’s Coles Hill site northeast of Chatham.
It also asked lawmakers to insure that “appropriate regulations” be in place by either the state or federal government for the “comprehensive protection of our citizens.”
“Mr. Ecker and I worked in good faith to produce a resolution for the Board of Supervisors, but obviously
our effort was not perceived that way by some of our peers,” said Barksdale. Ecker said the resolution isn’t dead. “I know a lot of people are waiting for a resolution,” he said. “There will be one coming back. I’m not going to sit on this.” Linda Worsley of Chatham urged supervisors to pass a resolution for a permanent ban on uranium mining.
“We need to look after ourselves,” said Worsley. “We need to keep the ban on uranium.”
