Va. county at epicenter of uranium debate to vote

CHATHAM, Va. -- Leaders of the Virginia county that is home to one of the world's largest uranium deposits are set to debate the state's 30-year ban on the mining of the radioactive ore.

The Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote Monday on a resolution introduced by Supervisor Marshall Ecker. He's urging residents to attend the meeting in Chatham to signal their support of the ban.

Ecker says he's opposed to mining a 112-million-pound uranium deposit because he says it would forever change a beautiful, rural landscape.

Ecker says the resolution will be a stronger than one proposed about one month ago. It did not call for a permanent ban on uranium mining and milling.

The General Assembly is expected to take up the mining ban in its 2013 session.