PEC commissioned Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors to study and calculate the actual value of distributed solar generation in Dominion Energy’s territory.
Strong Communities
PEC believes that the work of protecting natural resources and the work of building better communities are integral to each other.
A legacy of conservation and community at risk in Fauquier County
From their storied pasts to the present day, the Fauquier County towns of Remington, Bealeton and the many unique crossroad communities in the surrounding region have been characterized by their rural charm. And for decades, The Piedmont Environmental Council has been committed to collaborating with these local communities on conservation, land use planning, historic preservation and public access to nature. But as pressure for massive data center complexes spreads beyond Northern Virginia into the Piedmont’s special rural communities, we worry the progress and investments we and many others have made toward conserving, enhancing and preserving these communities will be lost forever.
1990s | PEC opposed the Fauquier Forward plan that would have widened Virginia State Route 28 and replaced the agricultural economy through that area with suburbs. Instead, we advocated for an alternative vision of conservation and helped create the county’s Purchase of Development Rights program, which pays landowners to relinquish development rights on their properties, thus supporting farmers, preserving the environmental and economic benefits of agriculture and preventing costly sprawl. Since then, Fauquier’s PDR program has become a model for other places, creating an important tool for landowners who want to keep their land in farming.
2006 | PEC helped the county acquire Rappahannock Station Battlefield Park, preserving this critical battlefield for a future public park and recreation area near the town of Remington. PEC supported development of a master plan for the park and continues to advocate for walking trails and interpretive signage that will tell the important history of the town and this historic battlefield.
2017 | In support of Remington’s effort to strengthen tourism and enhance pedestrian safety, PEC received a PATH Foundation grant to develop a plan called Remington Walks. This plan to rejuvenate Main Street with walking trails, town signage, pedestrian-friendly connectivity and more was developed with input gathered during community meetings and walking audits with residents. Remington Walks was adopted into Remington’s comprehensive plan and has been a guide and supportive document for several subsequent projects, including a gazebo next to the town hall, completed trail connections to Margaret Pierce Elementary and an improved railroad crossing accessible for strollers and wheelchairs downtown.
2021 | PEC and numerous partners set about creating an Upper Rappahannock River Water Trail that provides much-needed public access at several points along this Virginia-designated scenic river. In August 2021, we helped cut the ribbon on the new Rector Tract public canoe and kayak launch a short walk from downtown Remington. Open dawn to dusk, this launch closes a 25-mile gap in public access to the river between Riverside Preserve and Kelly’s Ford in Culpeper County.
2021 | Waterloo Bridge over the Rappahannock River is the uppermost point of the historic Rappahannock Canal, an important historic resource and a unique community treasure. Built in 1878, it was closed in 2014 and slated for replacement by the Virginia Department of Transportation. Advocating for its restoration, rather than replacement, PEC invested in a consultant to put forward a restoration alternative, held numerous community meetings, pushed VDOT to consider other options, and, with the financial help of the Hitt family, was able to fully restore the oldest metal truss bridge still standing in Virginia today.
2021 | PEC established a native plant garden at C.M. Crockett Park in Midland. As a part of our efforts to promote native landscaping practices, we applied for a grant from Kortlandt Fund of the Northern Piedmont Community Foundation to purchase the native plants for the project. We also designed the garden and worked with the Fauquier Parks and Recreation Department and community volunteers to install it.
The network of support to conserve, enhance, and preserve Remington and southern Fauquier extends well beyond PEC. The local churches, the Virginia Cooperative Extension, and John Waldeck established the Remington Community Garden. The town utilized a PATH Make It Happen Grant to build a new gazebo next to the town hall. And the Remington Community Partnership — run by the tireless Mary and Ray Root — has worked to document, preserve and promote the historic resources of the town. Countless people have led numerous other projects, but a comprehensive list could take up the entire publication!
Remington and its surrounding areas are at the intersection of two very different futures. The tremendous work we’ve all already done together paves a path that retains the region’s rural charm, agricultural heritage and economy, and promise of a vibrant place for visitation and recreation.
This progress is threatened by pressure from multiple data center proposals that could put more industrial development in the quaint town of Remington than all the commercial space in Fauquier County combined. Together these projects would open a floodgate of new transmission lines, substations, construction traffic, air pollution, noise, and massive concrete computer warehouses that will crowd out other forms of investment and business interest and induce even more industrial sprawl.
Before our county leaders make major decisions that will forever alter a critical piece of Fauquier’s rural identity and economy, it’s important to revisit and remember the investments and community accomplishments made in the face of past development pressures that would have transformed this region.
This article appeared in the 2025 fall edition of The Piedmont Environmental Council’s member newsletter, The Piedmont View. If you’d like to become a PEC member or renew your membership, please visit pecva.org/join.
PFAS-Contaminated Biosolids Proposed in Orange: Voices Needed by Aug. 4
America’s largest biosolids land-application company (Synagro) is seeking a permit to spread more PFAS-contaminated biosolids on farmland across Orange County, including fields adjacent to Pamunkey Creek, which already has elevated levels of PFAS contamination.
The SCC Must Protect Ratepayers From Big Tech’s Skyrocketing Energy Bill
Weigh in! The State Corporation Commission (SCC) is hearing the 2025 biennial review of Dominion Energy’s rates, terms, and conditions for generation and transmission infrastructure. This rate case is the first opportunity to address the electricity rate structure for the largest concentration of data centers in the world.
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.
Support Loudoun’s Agricultural Businesses! Weigh in on ABC Licensed Uses that Impact Farmers and Residents
June 18 meeting canceled – Loudoun County staff and Supervisors have been working hard since last November on the update to the Zoning Ordinance and Comprehensive Plan for Western Loudoun. On date TBD and July 16 at 5 p.m. in the main board room at the County Government Center, the Transportation and Land Use Committee will hold its fourth and fifth stakeholder work sessions for the Western Loudoun ordinance and comprehensive plan update. These two sessions will cover the regulations and standards surrounding the ABC licensed businesses of Western Loudoun, including wineries, breweries, cideries, and distilleries.
U.S. Route 29 Slated to Become an “Innovation Corridor”
This text was taken from an email alert sent out on May 15, 2025. Sign up for email alerts →
Dear Supporter,
U.S. Route 29 is the primary gateway into Albemarle County and Charlottesville, a Main Street of sorts that brings in residents and visitors from near and far to everything great the area has to offer. Several new economic development projects are taking place along the roadway between Charlottesville and Ruckersville in Greene County. These development projects have received little public attention, but have the potential for major impacts to the environment, transportation, land use, housing, schools, and the climate.
Economic development is an important tool for a locality, but Albemarle County already has several sectors like tourism, recreation, medical and agriculture that have both a positive economic and quality of life impact for area residents — not to mention the overall impact of the University of Virginia. We urge the County to prioritize supporting and nurturing these existing sectors that already bring great benefit to our community. Visitor spending brought nearly $1 billion to the area last year, nearly matching that of the annual $1.2 billion defense sector, while also serving as an additional motivator to preserve and protect our natural, cultural and historic resources, expand our trail and transportation systems, and increase climate mitigation funding.
The outdoor recreation economic sector has only continued to grow since the COVID-19 pandemic, as organizations like PEC and others have rallied around initiatives to increase public access to green spaces. The quality of life in our urban and rural areas is a major factor affecting retention and expansion of businesses as well as attracting new businesses. Supporting the agricultural economy also enables our farmers to farm, process, and market locally, where the community sees a return on investment through local job creation and tax revenue. Additionally, the uncertainty at the federal level calls into question why there would be a sole focus on growing the defense intelligence and biotech sectors.
Read on to learn about some of the proposed and approved projects and why they matter.
Economic Development in Albemarle County
As an outgrowth of the 2004 Crozet Master Plan, Albemarle County became more intentional about cultivating an effective economic strategy, restructuring its Economic Development Authority in 2016. Prior to that restructuring, in 2010, the county adopted an Economic Vitality Action Plan to address the need to create quality jobs with a focus on current local and existing businesses and to expand the commercial tax base.
Now, the county is working on a new Economic Development Strategic Plan, and PEC has joined the stakeholders committee. Look out for a future email with more on this initiative soon. In the meantime, I highly recommend you visit the Economic Development Strategic Plan public engagement webpage to learn about how the county is acting on economic development.
Major Projects Within Albemarle’s U.S. Route 29 Corridor
The projects listed below are currently in development in Albemarle County. As we learn more about these projects, we will continue to update you on ways to advocate for smart growth and resource protection. We’ll also remain focused on wider implications for land use, smart growth planning, transportation, infrastructure, natural resources and quality of life in our community.
In Albemarle County’s process for adopting the fiscal year 2026 budget, the Board of Supervisors and county staff have discussed the importance of expanding revenue from non-residential sources. However, absent from those discussions have been specific details about how much growth will occur by cultivating these new projects, how much that growth will cost and what are the possible impacts we need to plan for are.
Rivanna Futures
Last year, Albemarle County acquired 462 acres of land along the east side of U.S. Route 29 North adjacent to Rivanna Station, the home of three federal defense intelligence agencies, with the goals of retaining those Department of Defense installations and expanding the private sector in the community. The project is called Rivanna Futures.
An initiative with such goals will most certainly have major land use, transportation, water, energy, and infrastructure implications for the county and its residents, especially for the 8-mile stretch of U.S. Route 29 going up to the southern edge of Greene County.
GO Virginia “Innovation Corridor”
A state-wide economic development initiative called GO Virginia seeks to designate the U.S. Routes 15 and 29 as a Defense and Intelligence Industry Corridor. This would expand defense and intelligence development throughout the area from Fauquier County, down through Culpeper, Orange, and Greene Counties, and culminating in Albemarle County and Charlottesville.
In April, GO Virginia awarded over $613,000 in funding to the County for infrastructure design of Rivanna Futures.
A proposed new vision for U.S. Route 29, transforming the area into an economic development-focused “innovation corridor,” has the potential to impact the environment, transportation, land use, housing, schools and the climate.
This vision is shared by Albemarle County, UVA, the UVA Foundation, and others, with a major focus on growing the defense intelligence and biotech/biomedical economic sectors extending from Charlottesville and UVA along U.S. Route 29 to just north of Ruckersville in Greene County. It is also part of a regional effort to establish an “innovation corridor” along the 60 miles of U.S. Route 29 between Fauquier County to Charlottesville.
Project VITAL: Virginia Innovations and Technology Advancements in Life Sciences
Following the groundbreaking for UVA’s Manning Institute for Biotechnology in 2023, Governor Youngkin announced that a network of research institutions will be established between the University in Charlottesville, Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC in Roanoke, and Virginia Commonwealth University’s Medicines for All Institute. Initially branded as Virginia’s Research Triangle, Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. was later added to the research network. The announcement emphasized the desire for increased commercialization between the four cities, similar to North Carolina’s Research Triangle. UVA officials have estimated that the Manning Institute will generate hundreds of jobs and potentially thousands indirectly by attracting biotech and pharmaceutical companies to the greater Charlottesville/Albemarle region — focusing on bringing in new talent from outside that region.
Consider, will these projects bring an influx of people and their families to the region? What will this mean for traffic, schools, housing, cost of living, pollution, and climate? The community has had much to say about these topics in recent years as traffic and the cost of living have increased. Where is this deeper analysis happening, and can the county make it public for feedback from its citizenry?
Haven’t heard much about these major projects? Likely others haven’t either. So, send this to a friend and have them join our mailing list to stay informed about what’s going on in Albemarle and Charlottesville and ways you can get involved.
Thank you!
Rob McGinnis, PLA FASLA
Senior Land Use Field Representative
Albemarle & Greene Counties
[email protected]
(434) 962-9110
Charlottesville Bike Month Starts May 1!
Happy Bike Month! May is packed with events, gatherings and group rides organized by Piedmont Mobility Alliance groups and partners.
Exploring New Public Parks in the Piedmont
Conserved public spaces have measurable impacts on our lives: research shows that spending time outdoors improves both physical and mental health, and can even improve students’ grades, lower blood pressure and drive economic growth. If you enjoy outdoor adventures like I do, lace up your boots and come with me as we explore a couple of these new parks that opened in 2024, as well as one potential future park.