Covering Annandale, Bailey's Crossroads, Lincolnia, and Seven Corners in Fairfax County, Virginia

New loan program will promote sustainable buildings

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors authorized a new program to help commercial, industrial, nonprofit, and multifamily property owners borrow money from private lenders to make buildings more environmentally sustainable. The Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program will make it easier for eligible property owners to take out private loans for energy efficiency, renewable … Continued

Oil spill affects Holmes Run

Ranck Updated, 5:35 p.m.: An oil spill on the Inova property on the 3200 block of Gallows Road on March 21 has contaminated Holmes Run. The Fairfax County Fire Department found approximately 3,700 gallons of diesel fuel had spilled out of some tanks, Battalion Chief Marty Ranck, with the department’s Hazardous Materials Response Team, reported … Continued

Committee to rule on whether a home can be built in a flood zone in Annandale

4104 Woodlark Drive. Fairfax County officials are considering a proposal to build a home in Annandale on a property subject to flooding. The project, at 4104 Woodlark Drive, would disturb more than 2,500 square feet of a resource protection area (RPA), so it’s up to the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance Exception Review Committee (ERC) to decide … Continued

Every bit of unused land doesn’t need to be developed: Conservation Trust offers an alternative

By Alan Rowsome, executive director of the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust.  As residents of Northern Virginia, we’re witnessing our communities develop rapidly with an influx of new businesses that are soon to call this region home. There are many positives to living and working in such a thriving area, but it is also crucial that … Continued

Sediment problems at Inova construction site not resolved, volunteer charges

Sediment found in a stream washed downstream from the Inova construction site. [Kris Unger] While Fairfax County officials insist controls put into place at the construction site for the Inova Center for Personalized Health on Gallows road are keeping sediment out of a Holmes Run tributary, environmental activists say the problem has not been adequately … Continued

Fairfax County disputes claims that Inova construction project is harming the environment

Fairfax County has taken exception to the post in the Annandale Blog on Nov. 13 that described the failures of Inova’s contractors to keep sediment out of the Holmes Run watershed during the construction of the Inova Center for Personalized Health on Gallows Road. The following response was submitted by Anne Cissel, public information officer … Continued

Sediment from Inova project is damaging the watershed

Sediment from the Inova construction site is flowing into streams. [Photos by Kris Unger] Construction at the Inova Center for Personalized Health and related projects on Gallows Road on the former Exxon Mobil site is causing large amounts of sediment to flow into streams and is thus compromising the Holmes Run watershed. While some efforts have … Continued