Two Virginia state lawmakers are defending their trip to France financed by a mining company trying to convince the General Assembly to overturn a decades-old moratorium on uranium mining.

Virginia Uranium Inc. offered state lawmakers a chance to visit a former uranium mine in Bessines, France, to prove mining could be done safely in Pittsylvania County in south-central Virginia, home of what has been called the largest U.S. undeveloped uranium deposit (Greenwire, May 27).

Del. James Massie III (R) was among a dozen or so lawmakers that accepted the company's offer last month, taking the round trip to France for about $10,000 each (Greenwire, June 17).

"The geology down there, geography, the climate, is very, very similar to Pittsylvania County," Massie, who represents part of Henrico County, near Richmond, said in an interview. "I thought the trip was very useful."

Uranium has never been mined in Virginia, so the company is taking pains to prove that it can happen safely in the face of opposition from environmental groups and southern Virginia residents. The trip, helpful to some lawmakers, appears to have fueled the skepticism.

"It's not clear what a closed mine has to do with the mine Virginia Uranium would like to open in Pittsylvania County, other than it's a good excuse for a junket," the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot newspaper wrote.

The same newspaper published a cartoon last month called "Ugly Americans" that depicted lawmakers sitting in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. One of the delegates sits with a "goodie bag" and says, "My vote's not for sale, nosiree! I told them three days in Paris and not one day more!"

Eastern Virginia residents -- particularly people from Virginia Beach, which draws drinking water from Lake Gaston, which is downstream from the proposed mine site -- have expressed concern about possible spills in the mining area. Environmentalists contend uranium mining cannot be done safely.

"Lawmakers can call it fact-finding, and there's no doubt that a few facts will be found," the Virginian-Pilot said. "But that doesn't change the fact that a company with business before the General Assembly will spend about $10,000 each in an effort to sway lawmakers."

Virginia Uranium has spent more than $50,000 on lobbying between May 2009 and April 2010, according to records compiled by the nonprofit Virginia Public Access Project. The company's campaign contributions since 2008 topped $50,000, having donated money to a slew of Democratic and Republican candidates and political groups.

"We're out there telling our story," Patrick Wales, project manager at Virginia Uranium, said in an interview. "My perspective on it is, to me, it's important on any issue that legislators are having to make decisions on, is to be informed."

Wales expressed surprise at all the media attention given the French tour. He said the company took three lawmakers to Bessines last year, with little fanfare. "We hope to in the next few months maybe expand opportunities for community leaders and maybe even perhaps press," he said.

While the trip allowed time for sightseeing, the itinerary included meetings with local officials, Wales said.

"Some critics have called the trip a boondoggle because we visited mines that are no longer active," Del. David Englin (D) who represents parts of Northern Virginia, wrote in a Washington Post op-ed. "However, a central question is how mining will affect the environment and public health in the long term, after extraction of the radioactive material has ceased."

Englin, who calls himself a committed environmentalist and is vice chairman of the Virginia House Democratic Caucus, said there is nothing wrong with him seeing a mine reclamation site as part of his decisionmaking.

"Some of the information we received in France conflicts with scientific studies on long-term toxicity previously cited by environmentalists," he wrote. "I'm not sorry I went."

Verdict before the trial?

Meanwhile, opponents continue circulating studies showing the ills of uranium mining, including in France.

A group of farmers and advocacy groups is also asking the National Academy of Sciences, which is preparing a report on uranium mining for lawmakers, to outline mining's potential impact on Virginia agriculture. They worry about food pollution and potential negative perception from consumers.

"I am very fearful that the future of Halifax County's agricultural viability would be severely compromised with uranium mining in a contiguous county," Bill Abbott, owner of Abbott Farms Suppliers in Halifax, Va., said in a statement.

Virginia Uranium says there is enough uranium at the site for the project to last more than three decades and the potential to generate $140 million a year in revenue.

But mining skeptics contend agriculture, with a state economic footprint of $55 billion, could be in peril.

Even though all eyes are on the forthcoming NAS study, others are also causing controversy surrounding Virginia Uranium's proposal.

The company has just released a rebuttal of a review conducted on behalf of Virginia Beach that said a mining-waste accident would hurt Kerr Reservoir and Lake Gaston. The company's contractor, however, says the chance of a tailings release is near zero. Virginia Beach is conducting further research.

Massie, the Henrico lawmaker, takes issue with Virginians deciding on the project without gathering all possible information.

"I have not come close to reaching a verdict on this yet," Massie said. "Let's have a process, get the facts."