Campbell County and the town of Altavista will be included in a study to determine the socioeconomic impact of uranium mining at Coles Hill near Chatham.
“We certainly are going to include every county that is affected economically and socially,” said Del. Lee Ware, R-Powhatan.
Both the town and the county would qualify, said Ware, chairman of the Commission on Coal and Energy Uranium Mining Subcommittee.
Virginia Uranium Inc. wants to mill a 119-million-pound uranium ore deposit 15 miles from the Altavista town line and 9.2 miles from the Leesville Lake area of Campbell County.
“Obviously, an operation like that or any significant operation affects a radius around where it’s going to be, not just the jurisdictional boundary,” said David Laurrell, Campbell County administrator. “It potentially has some impact on the southern end of Campbell County both positive and negative.”
Campbell County officials said the mining operations could impact the Leesville Lake area and the towns of Altavista and Brookneal.
“We’re certainly glad that they did that (include the county) so we can go ahead and make some determinations in terms of what the impact might be,” Laurrell said.
The $200,000 region-specific socioeconomic study is one of two studies the subcommittee will commission. The socioeconomic portion will look at the social, economic and environmental impacts of uranium mining and sustainability factors like quality of life, real estate values and infrastructure.
A separate study, already under way, is a scientific and technical look at environmental, health, safety and regulatory issues related to the mining.
A number of other localities, businesses and institutions have asked to be included in the socioeconomic study. If they will be affected by the mining, Ware said they too would be part of the study.
“We do want to make it comprehensive,” Ware said.
Campbell County officials specifically requested that the southern portion of the county be part of the study.
Additional studies have been requested but they are not connected to the two commission projects.
Last week, the public met with the commission to give feedback on the scope of the socioeconomic study. About 70 people spoke, touching on jobs, public perceptions and water concerns.
“We’re grateful for the public interest that has been shown,” Ware said. “We’ve heard from a goodly number of people, and it’s important to take that into account.”
The commission will now rewrite the intended scope of the study to address concerns voiced at the hearing. Additional public hearings will be held but those dates have not been set.
Once the study outline has been reviewed and approved it will be sent out to bid. Ware hopes for that to happen by the end of the summer. From there, the study could take 18 months to complete.
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