What are some potential impacts of mining and milling uranium in Virginia?
• Pollution of groundwater and surface waters from overburden, waste rock and ore, including acid drainage, tailings impoundments and other substances in drilling wastes, brines, solvents, etc., used in the extraction or processing of ore. • Virginia would be the first state east of the Mississippi to allow mining. Virginia has significantly higher precipitation rates, more extreme weather events, including hurricanes, higher groundwater levels, larger watersheds of interconnected streams and rivers, and greater populations living in relative proximity than sites in western U.S. or Canada where uranium has been mined. • The impact of significant storm events on uranium mining is one of the concerns yet to be adequately addressed. — In August 2004, Tropical Storm Gaston dropped 14 inches of rain across Central Virginia over a few hours, causing major flooding in low-lying areas. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, areas near the James River in Richmond had as much as 6 to 8 feet o
