by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | May 25, 2023 | Newsletter
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | May 19, 2023 | Gold Mining
Buckingham County attorney EM Wright presented information at a work session on May 15 on options for the Planning Commission to consider for local regulation of metallic mining. Check out this clear coverage by Brian Carlton of the Farmville Herald below. ...
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | Apr 17, 2023 | Gold Mining, Newsletter
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | Apr 16, 2023 | Events, Fossil Fuels, Pipelines
Appalachian Voices and the Southern Environmental Law Center sponsored the documentary film “Not On This Land: The Fight Against the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.” The premiere film screening was on Wednesday evening, April 12, 2023 at the Buckingham Community Center in...
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | Apr 16, 2023 | Gold Mining
After a lengthy battle against a national pipeline, residents of Central Virginia face a new ecological threat – gold mining. Photography by Karen Kasmauski; Written by Dori Rathmell Published April 13, 2023 Check out this well informed, beautifully photographed...
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | Apr 8, 2023 | Gold Mining, Newsletter
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | Apr 7, 2023 | Gold Mining
The effort at the state level to ban cyanide use in mining was at first very well received. But partisan actions killed it in committee, halting any further possibilities in the 2023 General Assembly to protect us from potential metallic mining. We recently discovered...
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | Apr 3, 2023 | Gold Mining
Timeline continued from the Gold Mining Page: Updates/Timeline in Brief Ban Gold-mining November 2022: National Academy of Sciences hosted a report release webinar on November 2. For links to the report – scroll up to the Take Action section. Next State Agency...
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | Mar 18, 2023 | Newsletter
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | Mar 18, 2023 | Solar
Thanks to Scott Flood for the updates around the state on how industrial solar is going – not so well. Photo: Spotsylvania industrial solar field Mecklenburg County Board denies Antler’s Road solar project appeal...
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | Mar 13, 2023 | Newsletter
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | Feb 11, 2023 | Newsletter
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | Feb 10, 2023 | Gold Mining
A bill that would have banned the use of cyanide in mining and processing operations in Virginia was killed at the last minute Monday. House Bill 1722 from Del. Shelly Simonds, D-Newport News, was sent back to committee the day before crossover, the deadline by which...
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | Jan 25, 2023 | Newsletter
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | Jan 25, 2023 | Newsletter
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | Jan 17, 2023 | Gold Mining
Protect our Water! Thanks to Press Pause Coalition, for writing House Bill 1722 and finding Delegate Simonds to patron it. Now it’s up to us to get the comments to the General Assembly. Use this link to find the bill. Click on view comments. See what others have...
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | Jan 14, 2023 | Gold Mining
Brian Carlton, Editor of the Farmville Herald, has been following the gold mining issue closely. In 2 articles last week, he follows the formation of the gold mining committee by the Buckingham Board of Supervisors. The committee was approved at the 12-12-2022 Board...
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | Jan 13, 2023 | Solar
Thanks to Scott Flood for this article and keeping us alert to these pressing concerns. On November 14, 2022, EPA and DOJ announced 1.34 million in settlements to resolve Clean Water Act violations at four large-scale solar construction sites in Alabama, Idaho and...
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | Jan 7, 2023 | Gold Mining
In 2020, Buckingham County residents discovered that a mineral exploration company, Aston Bay, had been performing exploratory drilling for gold in their county since the previous year. Why had Aston Bay looked to Virginia as a prospecting location for new,...
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | Jan 5, 2023 | Gold Mining, Newsletter
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | Dec 16, 2022 | Gold Mining
On December 2, the State Agency Committee (SAC), tasked with the study of large-scale gold mining and the industry’s potential impacts on communities and their watersheds in Virginia released its public report “Potential Impacts of Gold Mining and Processing in the...
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | Dec 12, 2022 | Gold Mining
George Neall, current farmer, retired miner, has been serving us a steady stream of pertinent information on mining, which has been helpful in educating us to the history and facts of the business. George served on the State Agency Committee (SAC), tasked “to...
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | Dec 11, 2022 | Gold Mining
Some members of the Buckingham County community who helped fight the Atlantic Coast Pipeline are being forced to take on industrial metals mining Residents of rural Virginia communities now recognized internationally for winning an unprecedented battle against the...
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | Dec 10, 2022 | Newsletter
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | Dec 8, 2022 | Gold Mining
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 7, 2022 State Committee Report Warns of Harmful Impacts from Large-Scale Gold Mining Advocates from across Virginia react to report detailing potential threats to water, land, health CONTACT Chad Oba, President, Friends of...
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | Nov 19, 2022 | Gold Mining
Meaningful state protections are looking increasingly doubtful. See the articles below. First up, local protections could to be the answer to stopping metallic mining at our doorstep. Local Protections See 3 articles in the Farmville Herald. And watch Ben...
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | Nov 14, 2022 | Newsletter
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | Nov 10, 2022 | Gold Mining
Brian Carlton, Editor of the Farmville Harald covers the release of the report on the study of the impacts of gold mining in Virginia, by the National Academies of Sciences. Included are 2 good quotes from Kenda Hanuman, FoB representative to the State Agency...
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | Nov 9, 2022 | Gold Mining
With exploration for gold continuing in Buckingham County, a report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine found Virginia’s current system of regulating gold mining “is not adequate to address the potential impacts” of commercial extraction....
by Heidi Dhivya Berthoud | Nov 3, 2022 | Gold Mining
There are 447 documented abandoned gold mines in Virginia, and an estimated 500 undocumented, and they are all loaded with mercury, some with cyanide, arsenic, and other toxic materials. Many have numerous gaping and dangerous open shafts. There are some...