Attorney General defends Virginia’s moratorium on uranium mining

RICHMOND (September 30, 2021) – Attorney General Mark R. Herring has again successfully defended Virginia’s moratorium on uranium mining when the Supreme Court of Virginia today refused Virginia Uranium’s appeal, which sought to overturn a lower court’s ruling that upheld the 39-year moratorium.

“The Commonwealth has maintained this moratorium on uranium mining for almost four decades, protecting the safety and wellbeing of Virginians, our lands, and our waterways,” said Attorney General Herring. “The Supreme Court of Virginia’s ruling today yet again affirms what I have been saying all along – that Virginia has the right to regulate mining activities. I’m glad that my team and I once again were able to protect Virginia’s environment by successfully defending the Commonwealth’s ban on uranium mining.”

Last July, Judge Chadwick Dotson in the Circuit Court of Wise County and the City of Norton ruled in favor of Attorney General Herring and Virginia’s moratorium on uranium mining, saying “Clearly…the greater harm would be against the people. The common law supports it. Common sense supports it. To find otherwise would be untenable.” In June 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court also agreed with Attorney General Herring that Virginia has the right to enact a moratorium on uranium mining within its borders and upheld the Commonwealth’s ban. Additionally, Attorney General Herring has also successfully defended the moratorium in both federal district court and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.