Tag: environment
Environmental group hopes to prevent developers from buying Annandale land
Fairfax County has again put up for auction seven undeveloped properties in Annandale in a flood plain next to Accotink Creek. The land owner, the Al Root Memorial Foundation, hasn’t paid taxes in years, so according to state law, the county has to auction off the properties to the highest bidder. The auction ends Tuesday, … Continued
Community celebrates Earth Day on the Annandale Greenway
Dozens of people and public officials celebrated Earth Day April 23 at a cleanup event on the Annandale Greenway. Several local leaders spoke to the group at the future Annandale Civic Space as the event started, several local agencies and organizations hosted information tables. The Greenway is a four-mile pathway connecting existing park trails and … Continued
Discounts offered for solar energy
The annual Solarize NOVA program is underway, providing bulk discounts on solar systems for homes and businesses. The Solarize campaign is offered in partnership with the Local Energy Alliance Program and the Northern Virginia Regional Commission. The campaign runs from April 1 through June 30. The program includes a free assessment of the property to … Continued
Volunteers get plenty of help at Americana Drive cleanup
The semi-annual cleanups along Americana Drive in Annandale are drawing more volunteers and more help from the county and other community partners. Forty-four volunteers turned out for the cleanup on Presidents’ Day. They filled 191 bags of trash and collected at least 19 tires and big piles of construction debris and furniture. The cleanup was … Continued
Climate report predicts extreme heat
The biggest impacts of climate change in Fairfax County will be extreme heat, heavy precipitation, and inland flooding. That’s a key finding of the Climate Projections Report issued this month. The report, a component of the Resilient Fairfax Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan, looks at the climate conditions and hazards the county is likely to … Continued
Two sites identified for dredging operation at Lake Accotink
Fairfax County public works staff recommend two sites for processing the sediment to be dredged out of Lake Accotink. Those sites, announced at a community meeting Feb. 10, are at Southern Drive and the maintenance area in Wakefield Park. The dredged material would be transported to whichever dewatering site is chosen via a pipeline. After … Continued
Fairfax County taxes plastic bags
A new 5-cent tax on plastic bags in Fairfax County took effect Jan. 1. The Board of Supervisors approved the tax in September. The tax applies to disposable plastic bags from grocery stores, convenience stores, and drug stores.
Volunteers and organizations recognized for supporting parks
Volunteers with Friends of Accotink Creek collect litter from the stream. [FACC] The Fairfax County Park Authority has honored the Friends of Accotink Creek (FACC) with an Elly Doyle Park Service Award. FACC volunteers protect the watershed by removing trash, replacing invasive plants with native species, monitoring wildlife populations, and educating the public about preserving … Continued
Fairfax County to phase out gas-powered leaf blowers
Gas-powered leaf blowers [Quiet Clean NOVA] The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has approved a measure to phase out the county’s use of gas-powered leaf blowers. The measure also calls for updating Fairfax County’s procurement process to incentivize electric leaf blowers by landscape contractors working for the county.
Fairfax County removes flood-prone Annandale properties from land auction
The properties are all wooded and mostly in a floodplain. The seven tax-delinquent properties next to Accotink Creek in Annandale are no longer up for auction. The owner of the properties, the Al Root Memorial Foundation, hadn’t paid taxes in years, so the county had planned to sell them by auction in November.
To meet local climate goals, we need a national price on carbon
The authors (left and third from left) and other Citizens’ Climate Lobby volunteers meet with Rep. Gerry Connolly (right) in 2018. By Sarah Karush and George Kralovec Fairfax County recently developed a blueprint to cut local greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2050. Now there are signs that Congress is … Continued
Conservation group wants to prevent development of vacant Annandale properties
The Annandale properties up for auction are outlined in yellow. Fairfax County has put seven adjoining properties totaling 6.7 acres in Mason District up for auction. The land is adjacent to Accotink Creek, and the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust (NVCT) is scrambling to acquire the land so it can’t be developed. The seven parcels are … Continued
Fairfax County board approves plastic bag tax
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors passed a 5-cent tax on disposable plastic bags Sept. 14. The new tax takes effect Jan. 1, 2022, and applies to bags provided to customers at grocery stores, convenience stores, and drug stores.
Evaluations underway on Lake Accotink dredging project options
Lake Accotink is filling up with sediment. Options under consideration for drying out the sediment dredged out of Lake Accotink have been narrowed down to Wakefield Park near the maintenance facility, the Dominion Energy right of way, the upper lake settling basin, and the lake island. Several alternative sites – Howrey Park, the Wakefield Park … Continued
Board of Supervisors sets hearing on proposed plastic bag tax
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on July 27 agreed to hold a public hearing on a proposed plastic bag tax. The tax would be 5 cents per bag provided by grocery stores, convenience stores, and drugstores.