Virginia Uranium-Mining Ban Upheld by U.S. Supreme Court
- Ruling blocks mining at nation’s largest known uranium deposit
- Property owners, Trump administration challenged mining ban
A model of the Coles Hill uranium deposit in Chatham, Virginia.
Photographer: Meg Roussos/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Virginia law that bans mining at the nation’s largest known uranium deposit, rejecting a challenge pressed by the owners of the property with help from the Trump administration.
Voting 6-3, the justices said Virginia’s uranium-mining ban is in accord with a 1954 federal law that gives the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission power over atomic safety. The majority said the 1954 law didn’t affect the longstanding power of states to regulate mining.