The Piedmont Environmental Council submitted expert witness testimony to the State Corporation Commission (SCC) regarding the commission’s biennial review of Dominion Energy’s rates for generation, transmission, and distribution services.
Maps & Resources
Take Action: Make Free Bridge Lane Permanently Car-free
Late last year, Albemarle County closed Free Bridge Lane to automobile traffic, creating a safe, riverside space for walking, running, and biking. That has proved very popular so the Board of Supervisors will discuss making the arrangement permanent at its August 6 meeting.
Here are five ways you can help:
- Please sign PEC’s petition requesting the following: 1) finalize the road closure, 2) fund and build a first wave of safety, access and environmental improvements, and 3) budget in coming years to construct the proposed promenade. We will forward the petition to County leaders when the time comes.
- Contact the Board of Supervisors directly and tell them why places like Free Bridge Lane are important to you.
- Attend the August 6 meeting and consider speaking during the public comment period (at the beginning of the meeting).
- Share your ideas for improvements, projects, activities, or events you would like to see On Free Bridge Lane (especially things that can be done quickly, cheaply and that you would be willing to champion).
- Get inspired! A team of PEC Summer Fellows has prepared an idea book of (mostly) practical ways to transform the disused roadway into a lively park. Take a look!
The future of Free Bridge Lane will depend on a combination of volunteer energy, private donations and certain specific actions that only the government can take (like improving the safety and access). We depend on all of you to make it happen!
In the meantime, go check it out. The flat, paved riverside space is especially good for learning ride a bike or rollerblade, doing measured wind sprints or walking with elders. [Info page]
A Conversation on Trails and Connectivity
While conserving the verdant landscapes of Virginia’s Piedmont is foundational to The Piedmont Environmental Council’s mission, making the outdoors accessible to everyone has become an equally vital goal. Over the past few years, we have deliberately integrated trail development into our broader conservation mission, protecting strategic properties that can serve as trail corridors or public access points to create lasting places and ways for people to experience the Piedmont’s natural beauty firsthand.
Conservation Benefits Everyone
The car in front of me swerved to miss something in the road. I slowed, watching a small creature make its slow, plodding way across the asphalt. As I got closer, I realized it was a tiny baby opossum. Three other babies had already been struck in the road, with no mother in sight.
Questioning an Explosive Forecast: PEC Intervenes in Dominion IRP
Several years into the data center explosion in our region, the big picture is finally becoming clear to both the public and our decision makers. No longer are our communities just hearing The Piedmont Environmental Council’s warnings about the potential future impacts of this growth; we are all facing the full onslaught of those impacts now.
Plantings for the Piedmont: A Team Effort
It was a brisk morning in late January as I stood with a Fauquier County landowner. We leaned against a fence at the end of the site visit, discussing the coming tree planting projects at her property, when she said, “I want you to know that we’re a team. Whether it’s today as we’re standing here, tomorrow, or the next day, we’re in this together.”
Growing Connections: How Buy Fresh Buy Local Guides Strengthen Our Community
When Mike Peterson walks the fields at Kinloch Farm each morning, he is doing more than checking on cattle. He is nurturing connections that stretch far beyond the rolling hills of The Plains — connections between families and their food, between communities and farmers, and between people and the land that sustains them.
On the Ground Updates – June 2025
A series of short updates from around the PEC region – Albemarle & Charlottesville, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Greene, Loudoun, Madison, Orange & Rappahannock.
President’s Letter: Innovation and Relentless Implementation
Innovation and relentless implementation. The combination of these two qualities is what makes The Piedmont Environmental Council particularly special in creating the space, the possibility and the foundation for conservation outcomes that endure.
Dominion’s Plan to Meet Data Center Demand is Unrealistic and Environmentally Unsustainable
Based on the direct testimony and cross examination of witnesses in the Dominion 2024 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) case, The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) filed a brief with the State Corporation Commission (SCC) requesting the Commission to require new modeling to support the development of a more realistic rate structure for the data center buildout.