Chesterfield County Sen. John C. Watkins said Monday he will introduce legislation in 2013 to lift Virginia’s 30-year ban on uranium mining.
“One of the very first issues I worked on as a freshman legislator in the Virginia General Assembly back in 1982 was uranium mining, and my interest in the possibility of it remains strong today,” Watkins said.
“Uranium mining presents a unique opportunity to create jobs and economic development while contributing to our nation's energy independence,” the senator said.
Watkins announcement followed a report from Gov. Bob McDonnell’s Uranium Working Group Friday.
The 125-page report details a proposed regulatory framework for uranium mining and milling if lawmakers were to lift the moratorium.
“After studying the work that the Governor's Uranium Working Group delivered last week, I believe it is appropriate for us to formulate legislation to lift the moratorium on uranium mining and milling,” Watkins said.
“Toward that end, I have made a request to legislative services for legislation that adheres to the principles outlined by the UWG and intend to be the patron of such a bill. I invite my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation to establish a robust state regulatory program for uranium mining.”
Pittsylvania County is home to the only known commercially viable uranium deposit in Virginia. It is one of the largest uranium deposits in the United States.
Discovered by Marline Uranium Corp. in the late 1970s, the Coles Hill site is about six miles northeast of Chatham.
Marline and Union Carbide pursued mining the deposit, but abandoned plans in the mid-1980s when the price of uranium plummeted.
The two families that own the site, represented by Walter Coles Sr. and Henry Bowen, formed Virginia Uranium Inc. in 2007 to explore mining uranium when the price skyrocketed.
The deposit is worth an estimated $7 billion at today’s prices.