Countywide

Fairfax County is moving forward with updates to its landscaping and screening requirements along streets and parking lots.

The Fairfax County Planning Commission recommended the approval of changes to the ordinance at a meeting on Dec. 6. If fully approved, it would be the first major change to the ordinance in 40 years and could make parking lots greener.


News

Work is underway to restore the waterways around the Fairfax County Government Center.

To support the Difficult Run stream restoration project, which began in October, the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) worked with a consultant to relocate over 200 fish and eels to the pond outside the Herrity Building (12055 Government Center Parkway).


Countywide

The best path forward for saving Lake Accotink might to let it shrink, a Fairfax County task force has proposed.

Created by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in May, the 30-person group was charged with exploring alternatives to fully dredging the sediment that has accumulated in the man-made body of water or converting it to a wetland, as recommended earlier this year by county staff.


News

A 21-year-old from McLean will help give young Virginians a say in how the U.S. government addresses climate change and other environmental issues.

Sophia Kianni, who founded the nonprofit Climate Cardinals, is one of 16 people appointed to the Environmental Protection Agency’s first-ever youth advisory council, which will provide independent guidance and recommendations on policies related to greenhouse gas emissions, clean air and water, and more.


Countywide

A Fairfax County judge is weighing whether to throw out a lawsuit from environmental groups challenging Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s effort to remove Virginia from a regional carbon market.

Judge David Oblon heard oral arguments from Virginia Solicitor General Andrew Ferguson and Southern Environmental Law Center Senior Attorney Nate Benforado Friday morning in Fairfax Circuit Court. The hearing, which lasted about 30 minutes, concluded with the judge saying he would take the case under advisement before issuing a written decision.


Countywide

Fairfax County’s efforts to establish more regulations for data centers are heating up.

With the industry continuing to grow in Northern Virginia, the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) presented guidelines on issues like noise, water and air quality, energy demand and aesthetics to the Board of Supervisors’ land use policy committee on Tuesday (Oct. 17).


Countywide

Fairfax County residents are underutilizing publicly-funded incentives to make their homes more green. That’s according to James Walkinshaw, Fairfax County Supervisor for the Braddock District, who hosted the county’s first Climate Action Conference on Sept. 30.

Greeting a crowd of community members gathered at Lake Braddock Secondary School, Walkinshaw said the focus of the conference was to give residents “all the actionable information and the tools you need to reduce your emissions and save money.”


Countywide

Any Fairfax County residents who recently bought a budding tree or shrub may want to keep an eye on its leaves.

A relatively new disease called vascular streak dieback is killing plants from nurseries in Virginia and five other states, the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services’ (DPWES) Urban Forest Management Division says.


Countywide

Virginia is beginning to create plans for how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the primary driver of climate change, on a state and regional basis thanks to millions of dollars from the federal government.

This June, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded about $6 million in grants to Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality, regional planning organizations in Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads and the Monacan Indian Nation to create two plans.


Countywide

The Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) has proposed a new grant program to help curb flooding in the county.

The flood mitigation assistance program (FMAP) would reimburse residents and property owners for purchasing and installing approved products and services that reduce the risk of flood damage to their property.


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