Published in the Virginia Sierra Club’s newsletter, the Old Dominion Sierran.
This spring, thanks to thousands of letters and phone calls to the General Assembly, the perseverance of hundreds of volunteers around the state, and the support of over 100 business and organizations in Virginia, Virginia Uranium, Inc. (VUI) walked away from the legislative session defeated, as measures that would have overturned Virginia’s 30-year moratorium on uranium mining were killed by their sponsors because they didn’t have the votes.
In the wake of this crucial victory, VUI and its pro-mining pals have become savvy to the power of grassroots organizing that trumped the fancy gifts and vacations they had offered to legislators in an attempt to win them over during the session. Targeting the unsuspecting community of Southside, where its proposed mine would be developed, VUI has begun staging pro-mining events that are framed as public rallies but in reality are invitation-only. Unable to drum up widespread support for mining, VUI has resorted to hiring a paid fleet of young people to collect signatures and calls urging Governor Bob McDonnell to circumvent the legislature and draft regulations to create a framework for uranium mining to begin.
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The Sierra Club, through the Keep the Ban coalition, is working to mobilize citizens throughout the Southside region and the rest of Virginia who value their communities, livelihoods, and local economies and will not tolerate an Elliot Lake, Virginia. By collecting petition signatures, holding community forums around the state, and reaching out to new allies, we’ll send a strong message to Governor McDonnell: respect the will of Virginians and leavethe ban on uranium mining intact. In the end, the power of the people can win out over VUI’s deceptive tactics
What you can do:
To join in the battle to protect Virginia from the threats of uranium mining, give Governor McDonnell a call at 804-786-2211 or visit www.governor.virginia.gov to send him an e-mail. Urge him to leave behind a positive legacy for our state by refusing to draft regulations for uranium mining.