Officials at Fairfax Water are bracing for one-time and ongoing costs that could approach a half-billion dollars over the next decade to comply with new federal environmental regulations.
Unless workarounds are found, most of the costs of addressing the looming impact of chemicals known as PFAS will be borne by its customers, the agency’s head told the Board of Supervisors’ Environment Committee on Tuesday (Oct. 29).
While the environment is generally a priority for Fairfax County, issues related to trees and invasive plants appear likely to take a backseat to other concerns when local elected officials lobby their state counterparts in the General Assembly next year.
At its legislative committee meeting on Tuesday (Oct. 15), the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors reviewed a number of proposals for promoting tree conservation and addressing invasive species from the Fairfax County Tree Commission and Environmental Quality Advisory Council (EQAC).
Bad news for anyone who has already gotten roots in the ground: Fairfax County’s window for planting trees has shifted back following a record-hot summer.
Forest Conservation (FCON) staff in the county’s Department of Land Development Services (LDS) updated its policy this spring to designate Oct. 1 through May 31 as the recommended time frame for planting trees, pushing back the previous start date of Sept. 1 and extending it through the winter.
It’s not getting its name on an NFL stadium like a Herndon-based competitor, but Navy Federal Credit Union will still make its presence felt in the community this September.
On top of organizing an annual charity 5K, the military-serving financial institution is looking to improve a wetlands area on its headquarters campus in Vienna. The project will be presented to the town’s Board of Architectural Review at an 8 a.m. work session tomorrow (Wednesday).
A trash collection facility in Lorton is the first Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) building to install a rooftop solar system.
The Newington Collections Facility’s 150-kilowatt photovoltaic solar array will reduce carbon emissions “the same amount per year as recycling the contents of nearly five garbage trucks full of waste,” DPWES announced in a news release on Wednesday (July 31).
Amid an extended stretch of dangerous heat, humidity and potential drought, flooding hasn’t been the D.C. area’s top meterological concern this summer, but the possibility might’ve crossed some minds during a passing downpour on Wednesday (July 10) — remnants of Hurricane Beryl, which has devastated other parts of the U.S. and the Caribbean.
With climate change exacerbating storms and other extreme weather, Fairfax County has created a new grant program that will reimburse residents who shore up their home against flooding.
Fairfax County’s farmers markets are going plastic-free this month.
Starting tomorrow (Wednesday) through July 28, visitors to the Fairfax County Park Authority’s farmers markets are encouraged to bring reusable shopping bags in support of Plastic Free July, a global initiative fighting plastic pollution.
The average Dominion Energy Virginia residential customer will soon see a charge of about $4.50 dropped from their bills. The fee was being collected to recover costs through the state’s participation in the regional carbon market.
On Monday, the State Corporation Commission, which regulates Virginia’s utilities, approved a request from Dominion to stop tacking the fee on customer’s bills to recoup the costs the utility racked up through participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which Virginia is no longer a part of.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Wednesday that the state will no longer follow car emissions standards set by California, despite his party’s failure to repeal or roll back a 2021 Democratic law that tied Virginia to those regulations.
The move tees up what could be another legal fight over Republican leaders’ efforts to undo climate change-related measures Democrats passed when they had full control of state government a few years ago.
A group of Katherine Johnson Middle School students has proposed a new design for Fairfax Circle that they hope will be more environmentally friendly.
Several eighth graders presented their ideas to the Fairfax City Council on May 28 for addressing issues such as flooding, runoff, and pollution, which they argue will help to reduce the city’s impact on surrounding ecosystems, such as the Chesapeake Bay.
