Legal Challenge to Virginia Uranium Mining Ban

Uranium (Nuclear Minerals) / Exploration, Mining, Marketing, & Acquisitions

Date posted: 08/08/15

WNN reports that a group of companies has filed a lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Virginia seeking to overturn the state 33-year-old uranium mining moratorium. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Danville by law firm Cooper and Kirk on behalf of plaintiffs Virginia Uranium Inc, Virginia Energy Resources Inc, Coles Hill, LLC and Bowen Minerals, LLC. The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the state ban on the development of uranium mining regulations null and void on the grounds that it is invalid under the U.S. Constitution. They contend that the Virginia refusal to develop uranium mining regulations is based on issues related to the processing of uranium ore and, in particular, on the long-term storage and management of uranium mill tailings. However, they argue regulatory oversight and management of any uranium mill and the resulting tailings would be under the clear and exclusive jurisdiction of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Thus, they contend, the ban on uranium mining is preempted by federal law and is therefore invalid. U.S. states can take responsibility for licensing byproduct, source, or special nuclear materials used or possessed within their border by entering into agreements with the NRC. Uranium mining comes under the remit of Virginia 2009 agreement with the NRC, but the federal regulator retained authority with respect to processing facilities. Attorney Charles Cooper, who filed the lawsuit, said that Virginia ban was in direct conflict with federal law. The Commonwealth cannot refuse to develop state mining regulations based on concerns over activities that are permissible under federal law and under the clear jurisdiction of the federal government, he said in a statement. We urge the Commonwealth to move forward promptly to develop strict and rigorous regulations for those activities over which the Commonwealth does have jurisdiction, namely uranium mining.