Virginia Albrecht: Undermining the Clean Water Act – Drop by Drop

Virginia Albrecht (explore the Clean Water Timeline), dressed in a black double knit pantsuit and wearing small gold earrings, makes her way to the dais at the front of a large room in the law offices of Hunton & Williams, where she works. She is one of the last to arrive and has missed most of the small talk but waves to half a dozen colleagues as she crosses the front of the room, where she will lecture on the complexities of getting permits for building and other industry projects under the Clean Water Act.

Before the conference begins, Albrecht, 69, leans into the woman next to her as though she is consoling her. Fifteen minutes later, “Ginna,” as her friends call her, seems surprised when she is called on to talk, as though she does not think it is her turn yet. But she breezes through her lecture, in a plainspoken, this-really-isn’t-as-complicated-as-it-seems manner. Continue reading Virginia Albrecht: Undermining the Clean Water Act – Drop by Drop

Clean Water Timeline

It has been more than a century since Congress started debating the role of the federal government in protecting the nation’s waters. The battle continues today in Congress as well as the courtrooms. October 18th marks the 40th anniversary of enactment of the Clean Water Act. The single most significant step in fighting water [...]

Uranium Mining – The Virginia Battleground – Environmental Concerns vs. Corporate Interests Part Three

Chatham Courthouse
Chatham Courthouse
Frank’s Pizza and Subs is in an area known as Tightsqueeze, named after a narrow dirt road 120 years ago. It is just outside the town of Chatham, seat of government for Pittsylvania County, in south central Virginia, an area known as Southside. Frank’s is especially popular for pizza and steak-and-cheese and boasts a loyal following. There is nothing fancy here. Customers drink out of hard blue plastic cups that advertise a variety of businesses: a towing company, O.K. Mobile Home Park, Virginia Uranium, Inc.

Continue reading Uranium Mining – The Virginia Battleground – Environmental Concerns vs. Corporate Interests Part Three

Uranium Mining – The Virginia Battleground – Environmental Concerns vs. Corporate Interests Part Two

Virginia is the home of many historic Revolutionary and Civil War battlefields. But today, conflicts are being fought in a different forum. The question of whether to lift Virginia’s moratorium on uranium mining is shaping up to be one of the biggest battles in the General Assembly next year.

Continue reading Uranium Mining – The Virginia Battleground – Environmental Concerns vs. Corporate Interests Part Two