The Piedmont News is an email digest of top news stories about conservation, land use, energy, and environmental matters of interest to the region. We hope you’ll share The Piedmont News with someone else who cares about these stories.
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The Daily Progress
(May 28, 2025)
"Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s veto of a $1.37 million line item in the Virginia budget, eliminating funding for a walking trail connected to Biscuit Run Park in Albemarle County, has disappointed local lawmakers and residents alike. A major advocate for the project says the governor went 'out of his way' to derail it, and the legislators who fought for the money say they don’t understand why Youngkin targeted such a small investment with such significant benefits for the community."
This article quotes Piedmont Environmental Council Albemarle and Charlottesville Community Advocacy Manager Peter Krebs.
West Virginia Watch
(May 28, 2025)
"As a little known company has proposed a data center and natural gas plant in the tourism destination — known for its natural wonder and outdoor recreation — residents are left with questions, mounting concerns and few answers."
This article quotes Piedmont Environmental Council Director of Land Use Julie Bolthouse.
The Center Square
(May 27, 2025)
"A $47.7 million bridge replacement project funded by the Commonwealth of Virginia is facing resistance from local officials and conservation groups, who say the plan could threaten a centuries-old mill and surrounding protected land. The Virginia Department of Transportation plans to fully replace both spans of the I-66 bridge over Broad Run in Fauquier County and widen the structure to include expanded shoulders. State officials say the project is necessary to improve safety and address fatigue in the existing bridge's substructure. However, the revised design marks a shift from VDOT's original 2023 plan, which called for a more limited superstructure repair within the existing footprint."
This article quotes Piedmont Environmental Council Senior Advisor & Director of Strategic Partnerships John McCarthy.
Loudoun Now
(May 27, 2025)
"Community members last week had the chance to provide feedback on Dominion Energy’s next transmission line project – a 36.5-mile-long route across three counties. The Morrisville to Wishing Star line will feature 500 and 230 kilovolt lines running north through Fauquier, Prince William and Loudoun counties. Less than five of the miles will be built in Loudoun."
The Daily Progress
(May 28, 2025)
"Those closures were casualties of nature, but keeping trails open for hikers also requires people. In Shenandoah, just two employees of the National Park Service have the task of overseeing 500 miles of trails in the 198,000-acre park straddling the Blue Ridge Mountains and parts of eight counties, said Jim Schaberl, a Page County resident who retired early last year after 35 years in the National Park Service, including 16 at Shenandoah National Park."
Fauquier Times
(May 28, 2025)
"Late May is normally the heart of strawberry season at Messick’s Farm Market in Bealeton, which for almost a decade has used pick-your-own fields as the main attraction to its annual strawberry festival. But this year, strawberry season has been cut short at farms across the mid-Atlantic. The culprit: An emerging fungal disease called Neopestalotiopsis — better known as Neo-P."
WHRO
(May 27, 2025)
"Officials are concerned about hotter water because it can kill off seagrass, which is a sort of 'nursery' for other marine life, causing ripple effects including fewer rockfish and blue crabs for local fisheries. Higher temperatures are also known to lessen the amount of oxygen in the water, which can suffocate animals and help spur the growth of harmful algae."
The Daily Progress
(May 25, 2025)
"Chesapeake Bay blue crab populations fell again, hitting the second-lowest number since Virginia and Maryland marine scientists began counting in 1990, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources."
Bay Journal
(May 25, 2025)
"The Chesapeake Bay’s blue crab population has slipped to its second lowest level in 35 years, a six-year slump that has fisheries scientists searching for answers to the decline in the Bay’s most valuable catch and a closely watched indicator of the estuary’s health."
Information Charlottesville
(May 29, 2025)
"Charlottesville’s annual festival of pedal-drive vehicles will conclude on Saturday with a 1.3 mile ride through downtown beginning at 9 a.m."
The Daily Progress
(May 28, 2025)
"The archaeological excavation of the Albemarle County estate of Founding Father James Monroe has resumed, nearly a decade after its discovery reshaped the history of the site. Excavation at Monroe’s Highland has been done in spurts at the property just south of Charlottesville since 2016, when the foundations of the original house were discovered."
C-VILLE Weekly
(May 28, 2025)
"An entity associated with Woodard Properties known as Moores Creek LLC has sought to develop the property as Willoughby Place, an apartment complex with 84 two-bedroom apartments in two buildings. Under the old zoning, this would be a by-right development, which means City Council would have no role in its approval. On April 18, NDS staff approved a preliminary site plan for the project, so it can stay alive without having to come in with a new submission under the new rules. The clock is still ticking."
C-VILLE Weekly
(May 28, 2025)
"The Piedmont Environmental Council just released its 2025–2026 Buy Fresh Buy Local guide—a beautifully curated bi-annual directory of farms, food businesses, and markets across the region. This year’s Charlottesville Area edition (covering Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, and Nelson counties) features in-depth stories on beloved local spots like Feast Market & Cafe and the FARMacy Café and food truck."
This article mentions The Piedmont Environmental Council's Buy Fresh Buy Local guides.
Charlottesville Tomorrow
(May 21, 2025)
"A housing trust fund is a special type of fund established by a local government specifically for the purpose of building and repairing low-cost housing. What makes this type of fund different from others is that it has a dedicated source of revenue. For instance, a local government could dedicate a certain amount of a tax rate toward the fund. While the amount of money might change year to year, that revenue source would remain the same."
Rappahannock News
(May 29, 2025)
"The park was dedicated as the 43rd Virginia State Park with a ceremony last June and has been overseen by the American Battlefield Trust and Brandy Station Foundation, in partnership with the Commonwealth of Virginia. Four major battles were fought in Culpeper County. The Battles of Brandy Station, Cedar Mountain, Kelly’s Ford and Rappahannock Station occurred on property that are part of Culpeper Battlefields State Park or fought nearby on land being transferred to the Commonwealth."
Fauquier Times
(May 29, 2025)
"Nestled in the rural stretch of Midland, Kevin and Melody Powers have been building something extraordinary. What began in 2012 as a 21-acre family farm has, over the last eight years, grown into a vibrant, community-rooted brewery where farm and fermentation meet in the middle."
Fauquier Times
(May 29, 2025)
"A company called 'Gigaland' is proposing what could become one of the largest data center complexes in Northern Virginia on about 200 acres outside Remington. The development is unusually large in size, scope and power demand. It proposes seven buildings, each 80 feet tall, as well as four electrical substations, a water tower and a water treatment plant on 202 acres along Lucky Hill Road on land currently zoned residential."
Fauquier Now
(May 29, 2025)
"Nearly six months after the Warrenton Town Council approved the rezoning for the nonprofit Hero’s Bridge's veteran village in December 2024, a 44-unit affordable housing development for senior military veterans, the project’s founder says key pieces of pre-development are now in motion."
Fauquier Now
(May 27, 2025)
"Kettle Run High School junior Mia Heller won a special award in environmental engineering at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in Ohio earlier this month... Heller designed a prototype that pumps ferrofluid into contaminated water, processes the mixture through a magnetic separator and layered filter and recycles the ferrofluid for reuse while filtering out the microplastics. Her system removed 95.52% of microplastics from water and recycled 87.15% of the ferrofluid used."
Loudoun Now
(May 28, 2025)
"The Town of Leesburg collected more in property tax revenues than expected this far into fiscal year 2025, a result of last year’s annexation that brought data center into the corporate limits."
Loudoun Now
(May 27, 2025)
"By the age of 10, Leesburg’s Jim Clark could identify every bird in the forest by its sight and sound. The pictures he took back then with his parent’s 'little point and shoot camera' sparked a life-long love affair with nature photography. After a 49-year-career in nature photography, the photographer, naturalist, writer, speaker, and workshop leader earned the North American Nature Photography Association’s lifetime achievement award."
Loudoun Now
(May 23, 2025)
"Community members interested in efforts by the county government and its partners to promote environmental sustainability gathered at the Academies of Loudoun last night to hear about the work championed by the Loudoun Environmental Commission. Topics covered at the event including education on sustainable energy programs, tips for helping the environment at home and resources available to people looking to either learn more or be more involved in the efforts. "
The Rapidan Register
(May 24, 2025)
"The Madison County Comprehensive Plan was approved last week with little fanfare. The 2025 Comprehensive Plan has been in the works for years–since late 2022. State code requires counties to maintain a comprehensive plan outlining the vision for the future of the locality and also to update it every five years. Madison County’s last comprehensive plan was updated in 2018."
This article mentions The Piedmont Environmental Council.
Rappahannock News
(May 29, 2025)
"The Rappahannock County Planning Commission continues to host a series of community outreach meetings throughout the county regarding the county's Comprehensive Plan. Join one of the upcoming outreach meetings in June at 6 p.m. to provide input and/or learn more — June 16 at the Washington Volunteer Fire & Rescue station and June 30 at the Flint Hill Volunteer Fire & Rescue station."
Rappahannock News
(May 23, 2025)
"The Town of Washington Architectural Review Board (ARB) voted 4-1 Monday to approve a tower addition to The Parsonage — a guesthouse on Main Street owned by The Inn at Little Washington — after board members were provided with additional details on the project."
InsideNoVa
(May 29, 2025)
"A contentious town hall provided Dumfries-area residents an early look at a proposed data center complex. The tech hubs’ potential arrival in eastern Prince William County – a rarity in comparison with the county’s western end – was met with a mixed reception from the crowd. The Lexora Park project – near the Four Seasons at Historic Virginia 55-and-over community off Dumfries Road west of Interstate 95 – could include as many as five data centers, according to an April 9 concept plan."
Prince William Times
(May 29, 2025)
"The invasive spotted lanternfly seems to have won the battle in Prince William County. It took just four years for the pest to spread from a single discovery along the railroad tracks in Manassas in 2021 to invading the rest of the county."
InsideNoVa
(May 28, 2025)
"A study is underway to determine the feasibility of installing a bike and pedestrian trail from Manassas into Fairfax County with a so-called 'Rail With Trail' project. The city of Manassas has partnered with Manassas Park and Prince William County to commission a feasibility study that will determine the cost of setting a three-mile section of trail adjacent to the Virginia Railway Express’ Manassas line starting in the city’s downtown."
Prince William Times
(May 28, 2025)
"Now that the controversial Va. 28 bypass, which had been in the works for at least seven years, is no more, Prince William County officials are taking the first steps toward widening the existing roadway from Liberia Avenue to the Fairfax County line."
Fairfax Times
(May 23, 2025)
"Amid a cacophony of protests from local citizens, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a controversial new project to convert the Franconia Governmental Center into a series of four-story affordable housing apartment buildings called 'Franconia Triangle.' The Franconia Triangle would include 150 multi-family residential units and 79 townhouses, as well as office, retail, and public space."
This article quotes Coalition for Smarter Growth Northern Virginia Advocacy Manager Sonya Breehey. CSG is a project of The Piedmont Environmental Council.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(May 29, 2025)
"The Chesterfield Board of Supervisors approved two rezoning cases that will allow for data center development in the western part of the county. One of the properties is at 750 Watkins Centre Parkway, encompassing nearly 350 acres, while the other is located at the planned Upper Magnolia Green West technology village on 4200 Moseley Road, taking up 979 acres."
The Daily Progress
(May 24, 2025)
"The Virginia Department of Health has announced a change in how it will issue swimming advisories due to harmful algal blooms, and a Smith Mountain Lake group is saying it may reduce protections for public health. This summer, advisories will be issued based solely on the toxin levels of the harmful algal blooms. In previous years, advisories were issued when high levels of toxins were being produced by the algae or when the concentration, or cell count of the algae, exceeded 100,000 cells per milliliter."
The Washington Post
(May 29, 2025)
"The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously narrowed the scope of government-required environmental reviews for major infrastructure projects, overturning a lower-court block on a rail line in Utah that would carry billions of gallons of oil. The case became a proxy battle over how far federal agencies may go in assessing the environmental impact of highways, pipelines and other projects before deciding whether to approve them."
The New York Times
(May 29, 2025)
"Charleston, a port city draped in Spanish moss and history, and surrounded by rivers and marshland in South Carolina’s Lowcountry, is intensely vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The sea level nearby has already risen a foot. Severe storms and flooding have dramatically increased. So Charleston sued."
The Washington Post
(May 24, 2025)
"The Environmental Protection Agency is drafting a plan to end federal limits on greenhouse gases generated from coal- and gas-fired power plants, a spokesperson confirmed Saturday, part of a sweeping effort by President Donald Trump to undo Biden-era environmental regulations."
NPR
(May 22, 2025)
"The Senate has overruled the guidance of the parliamentarian, a nonpartisan staffer who interprets the Senate's rules, and voted 51 to 44 to overturn a waiver allowing California to set its own air pollution standards for cars that are stricter than national regulations."
