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.
Malcolm Andrews |
An eastern Eastern Bluebird in a morning shower in Crozet, VA. |
Submit a Photo
Loudoun Now
(March 5, 2025)
"After nearly a year of effort, the Board of Supervisors is poised to adopt sweeping changes to the way data center applications are reviewed. However, after a closed session legal briefing Tuesday night, a majority backed a plan to keep the current regulations in place for many of the 41 pending data center applications through a grandfathering resolution."
Nature
(March 5, 2025)
"The aroma of hay and manure hangs over Culpeper County, Virginia, where there’s a cow for every three humans. 'We’ve got big farms, most still family-owned, and a lot of forests,' says Sarah Parmelee, one of the county’s 55,000 residents. 'It’s very charming small-town USA,' she adds."
This article features Land Use Field Representative Sarah Parmelee.
29 News
(March 4, 2025)
"The Commonwealth is home to more data centers than any other place in the world, yet there is no established state oversight over these warehouses. Legislators from both sides of the aisle introduced dozens of bills this session, aiming to install guardrails. Only a small fraction of those passed the General Assembly and graduated to the governor’s desk."
This article features Piedmont Environmental Council Director of Land Use Julie Bolthouse.
The Daily Progress
(February 28, 2025)
"Dominion Energy has the green light to bring a big, new high-voltage line — capable of handling three times as much electricity as the utility’s biggest lines can now move — to bring in electricity from the Midwest and ease Virginia's growing energy squeeze."
Chesapeake Bay Magazine
(February 28, 2025)
"The Patawomeck Indian Tribe recently acquired 870 acres of its ancestral homeland along the Rappahannock River in Spotsylvania and Caroline counties, in Virginia. The tribe will be permanent stewards of the property."
San Francisco Examiner
(February 11, 2025)
"For all its promised benefits, the artificial-intelligence boom is likely to prove costly to public health and even lead to hundreds of deaths a year in the U.S. alone, and those ill effects are likely to disproportionately hit poorer communities, according to a study by California esearchers that’s believed to be among the first of its kind."
The Daily Progress
(February 28, 2025)
"Dominion Energy has the green light to bring a big, new high-voltage line — capable of handling three times as much electricity as the utility’s biggest lines can now move — to bring in electricity from the Midwest and ease Virginia's growing energy squeeze."
Nieman Lab
(February 27, 2025)
"It turns out Good Day Fort Collins is just one in a network of AI-generated newsletters operating in 355 cities and towns across the U.S. Not only do these hundreds of newsletters share the same exact seven testimonials, they also share the same branding, the same copy on their about pages, and the same stated mission: 'to make local news more accessible and highlight extraordinary people in our community.'"
The Nature Conservancy
(February 11, 2025)
"Today, The Nature Conservancy and the Cumberland Forest Limited Partnership announced new agreements with Sun Tribe Development and ENGIE to develop 14 solar energy and three battery storage projects on 360 acres of former coal mines in the Appalachians. This is the second round of clean energy project announcements from TNC’s Cumberland Forest Project in Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky."
The Nature Conservancy
(February 5, 2025)
"They’re investigating these questions as conservationists in the Appalachians rush to fortify these forests for the future. Often thought of as a steadfast refuge that extends well over 2,000 miles from Alabama to Newfoundland, the Appalachian Mountains—and the valleys and landscapes surrounding them—are not immune to the effects of climate change, development and global trade, and conservationists are concerned about their future."
Radio IQ
(March 5, 2025)
"On Thursday night and Friday morning, about 150 people are expected to gather at the Wool Factory in Charlottesville to talk about the Three Notch’d Trail."
This article quotes Piedmont Environmental Council Albemarle and Charlottesville Community Advocacy Manager Peter Krebs and features the PEC-hosted Active Mobility Summit.
C-VILLE Weekly
(March 5, 2025)
"March means longer days, warmer temperatures (hopefully!), and, for many in central Virginia, getting out the rake, trowel, and gardening gloves. Lovers of flowers, shrubs, and beauty anticipate the splendors of Garden Week, while those gearing up for soil and sun are looking forward to eating the fruits (and vegetables) of their labor. If you want to grow your own food, this area has a wealth of resources."
C-VILLE Weekly
(March 5, 2025)
"One purpose of urban planning is to determine appropriate places for people to live, but in many localities, elected officials have the final say. For instance, the Town of Scottsville Comprehensive Plan calls for around 1,000 people to reside in that community by 2040."
Charlottesville Tomorrow
(March 4, 2025)
"They were there to witness the unveiling of a new state historical marker acknowledging one of the most horrific parts of Charlottesville and Albemarle County’s past: the sale of hundreds of enslaved Black men, women and children at various sites throughout Court Square between 1762 and 1865."
The Northern Virginia Daily
(March 3, 2025)
"Over rocky Blue Ridge Mountain terrain, across winding streams and through thick woods, two crews of volunteer trailblazers forged a path through Clarke County in the 1980s that would become a well-trekked path in the region."
The Winchester Star
(March 3, 2025)
"Dating to the 1770s, the functioning stone-ground mill is on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s the only one on the East Coast with organically-certified operations."
Culpeper Star-Exponent
(March 6, 2025)
"Culpeper Uncovered is a new town tourism and economic development digital initiative that’s a central place for inclusive local history."
Nature
(March 5, 2025)
"The aroma of hay and manure hangs over Culpeper County, Virginia, where there’s a cow for every three humans. 'We’ve got big farms, most still family-owned, and a lot of forests,' says Sarah Parmelee, one of the county’s 55,000 residents. 'It’s very charming small-town USA,' she adds."
This article features Land Use Field Representative Sarah Parmelee.
Visit Culpeper Virginia
(March 3, 2025)
"This spring, Culpeper, VA, introduces Culpeper Uncovered, an initiative that goes beyond traditional history to explore the community’s past while honoring the people and businesses shaping its future. By highlighting the contributions of African American, Indigenous and immigrant communities, as well as women–and minority-owned businesses, this initiative brings new perspectives to Culpeper’s history."
InsideNoVa
(March 3, 2025)
"Since 2015, the museum has partnered with the local Luck Stone Quarry to provide a public access day to view the famous dinosaur footprints, one of the largest collections in the world, and the largest collection in North America."
Fauquier Times
(March 6, 2025)
"The site of a proposed data center complex north of Remington that has lain dormant for five years is showing signs of life. Remington Technology Park, planned for six massive data centers off Lucky Hill Road, has revised its site plan and is working to obtain a land-clearing permit to start its first building."
Fauquier Times
(March 6, 2025)
"Larry Kovalik was elected last November to represent Ward 3 on the Warrenton Town Council. He ran on an anti-data center campaign, like the majority of the newlyelected council, and raised concerns about the Warrenton Village Center redevelopment approved last year."
Fauquier Now
(February 28, 2025)
"The Warrenton Town Council has scheduled a March 11 public hearing to consider repealing the town’s approval of the Voluntary Settlement Agreement for annexing the former Alwington Farms property."
Fauquier Now
(February 28, 2025)
"Citizens for Fauquier County is a non-partisan, nonprofit organization representing hundreds of people interested in local conservation efforts. In 2022, Citizens for Fauquier County filed a FOIA petition against the town of Warrenton over access to emails about a proposed special use permit for an Amazon Web Services data center."
Greene County Record
(March 1, 2025)
"A 32,000-square-foot ice rink in Greene County just outside Charlottesville is one step closer to breaking ground. Developers hope to have shovels in earth this fall."
Loudoun Times-Mirror
(March 6, 2025)
"Leesburg residents can get a first look at the town’s draft new zoning ordinance as the document is available online for public review and comment through May 5."
Loudoun Now
(March 5, 2025)
"After nearly a year of effort, the Board of Supervisors is poised to adopt sweeping changes to the way data center applications are reviewed. However, after a closed session legal briefing Tuesday night, a majority backed a plan to keep the current regulations in place for many of the 41 pending data center applications through a grandfathering resolution."
Loudoun Times-Mirror
(March 5, 2025)
"Members of Loudoun County’s Transportation and Land Use Committee discussed the possibility of creating either an in-house or contracted housing authority at a recent meeting."
Blue Ridge Leader
(March 1, 2025)
"Between the Hills Community Center, located at 11762 Harpers Ferry Road in Neersville, will host a meeting on March 19 at 7 p.m. to inform the residents of our community about the following topics..."
This article mentions Piedmont Environmental Council Senior Land Use Field Representative Gem Bingol.
Loudoun Now
(February 28, 2025)
"JK Land Holdings CEO Chuck Kuhn and Freedom Center founder Michelle Thomas on Friday morning inked a deal transferring 10 acres from the company to the African American Burial Ground for the Enslaved at Belmont."
Loudoun Now
(February 28, 2025)
"Regional power coordinators this week approved a new list of proposed transmission line projects, including a 765-kilovolt line that is planned to cross through northern Loudoun."
Data Center Dynamics
(February 27, 2025)
"Leesburg Town Council has denied a rezoning application from Keane Enterprises for a proposed 165-acre mixed-use data center project in Oaklawn, Virginia."
Loudoun Times-Mirror
(February 27, 2025)
"Several recent events in Loudoun County were designed to raise awareness of National Invasive Species Awareness Week, according to Mike Littman, president of the Loudoun Invasive Removal Alliance."
Rappahannock News
(March 3, 2025)
"Two county residents commented about concerns over the expansion taking place at the Blue Rock Inn in Washington, saying it’s not what was initially approved by the supervisors in November 2023, which was three guest “cottages” to house up to 38 overnight guests."
Rappahannock News
(March 3, 2025)
"The Rappahannock County Planning Commission recommended approval of two tourist homes and an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) at its meeting last Thursday, but recommended denial of a third tourist home application."
Prince William Times
(February 27, 2025)
"Both City of Manassas property owners and data centers would see their tax bills rise next year under the $328 million budget the City Council is considering for fiscal year 2026. Included in the spending plan is a 67% hike in a tax rate that could be charged only to data centers."
The Northern Virginia Daily
(March 4, 2025)
"The Front Royal Town Council voted on Monday to back a developer’s pursuit of financing needed to build an apartment complex."
The Northern Virginia Daily
(March 3, 2025)
"When Jon Henry opened his email Wednesday morning, he found yet another federally funded program he relied on to help feed his neighbors had been put on hold."
Chesapeake Bay Magazine
(February 28, 2025)
"The Patawomeck Indian Tribe recently acquired 870 acres of its ancestral homeland along the Rappahannock River in Spotsylvania and Caroline counties, in Virginia. The tribe will be permanent stewards of the property."
Fredericksburg Free Press
(February 27, 2025)
"The sun is shining on a proposed solar farm in Stafford, but it’s unclear how long that will last. The county’s Planning Commission on Wednesday night voted 4-3 to recommend the Board of Supervisors approve a conditional-use permit for a solar facility at the southeast corner of Enon and Truslow roads."
Fredericksburg Free Press
(February 27, 2025)
"What if a Mayfield resident could bike safely to downtown Fredericksburg and along the upper Rappahannock River, taking in green space the whole way and stopping in small pocket parks to take a rest?"
29 News
(March 4, 2025)
"The Commonwealth is home to more data centers than any other place in the world, yet there is no established state oversight over these warehouses. Legislators from both sides of the aisle introduced dozens of bills this session, aiming to install guardrails. Only a small fraction of those passed the General Assembly and graduated to the governor’s desk."
This article features Piedmont Environmental Council Director of Land Use Julie Bolthouse.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(March 4, 2025)
"Dominion Energy is asking the State Corporation Commission to approve its plans for a $1.47 billion project to install four natural gas-fired generating units at its Chesterfield Power Station, a proposal that faces strong opposition from nearby residents, environmentalists and area legislators."
VCU News
(March 3, 2025)
"New research from Virginia Commonwealth University professor Damian Pitt, Ph.D., and colleagues calculates how much land has been devoted to those large solar installations since 2016, and projects how land development and solar power generation might change in the future."
AP News
(March 3, 2025)
"A decision to move the remains of hundreds African American tenant farmers from a former Virginia tobacco plantation to a dedicated burial ground has elicited a range of emotions among the sharecroppers’ descendants."
VPM
(March 3, 2025)
"Though a proposal intended to increase the commonwealth’s buildout of utility-scale solar farms failed this year, another that could incentivize smaller projects fared better."
ABC 8 News
(March 3, 2025)
"Dominion Energy has completed its construction on a new large-scale solar panel facility in Powhatan. The new solar facility is named Quillwort Solar and is located 35 miles west of Richmond off of Brauer Road near Powhatan County."
Inside Climate News
(March 1, 2025)
"Virginia’s largest utility received approval from its state regulators to construct a liquified natural gas storage facility for two of its gas-fired power stations in the Southside region of the state, despite opposition from environmental groups that favor more renewable energy."
Bay Journal
(February 28, 2025)
"The Virginia Department of Forestry is issuing more than $2.3 million in grants to help 60 localities support forested land in the Chesapeake Bay watershed."
Virginia Mercury
(February 28, 2025)
"Virginia’s next building code update isn’t until 2027, but lawmakers are already eyeing tweaks that could unlock more housing — particularly on vacant or underutilized urban lots."
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(February 27, 2025)
"Michael Shank’s Feb. 7 column ('Despite assault on clean energy, the future remains bright for solar') notes that location choices for solar power are critical. The recently passed bill promoting solar canopies over large parking lots (House Bill 2037, sponsored by Del. David Bulova, D-Fairfax) is an excellent step to address this issue."
NPR
(March 5, 2025)
"Jack is a blue healer mix and Yee is his bounder, a term for people who work with conservation detection dogs at Rogue Detection Teams in Rice, Washington. Bounders and their dogs assist biologists in locating hidden, hard-to-find and invisible samples in the wild, from plants to pangolins to poop."
Canary Media
(March 4, 2025)
"Maine’s solar incentive program has become a political scapegoat for rising electricity prices in the state, but clean-energy advocates say the numbers don’t add up."
E&E News
(March 3, 2025)
"Legislators in states where the U.S. data center boom is about to kick into higher gear are considering bills that could force developers to pony up to connect their power-hungry loads to the grid."
The New York Times
(March 2, 2025)
"On Saturday, Mr. Trump directed federal agencies to examine ways to bypass endangered species protections and other environmental regulations to ramp up timber production across 280 million acres of national forests and other public lands."
The Washington Post
(March 1, 2025)
"Amazon on Friday lost a fight to escape regulatory oversight for a proposed data center northwest of Minneapolis, in a skirmish that illustrates how the tech industry’s rush to invest billions in new facilities can clash with local communities and state-level climate goals."
The Washington Post
(March 1, 2025)
"Thousands of buildings across the United States are staying cool with the help of cutting-edge batteries made from one of the world’s simplest materials: ice."
Capital B
(February 28, 2025)
"Today, as South Carolina races to power its digital future, history seems to be repeating itself, with Black communities once again paying the price for progress."
Morning AgClips
(February 27, 2025)
"Investigators at the KBS LTER site find differences in soil carbon gain among cover cropped, no-till, and perennial cropping systems after 25-years. Cover cropping found to be a powerful tool for building soil carbon even in cropping systems that are plowed. No-till and diverse perennial plantings also emerge as effective ways to build long-term soil carbon stores."
San Francisco Examiner
(February 11, 2025)
"For all its promised benefits, the artificial-intelligence boom is likely to prove costly to public health and even lead to hundreds of deaths a year in the U.S. alone, and those ill effects are likely to disproportionately hit poorer communities, according to a study by California esearchers that’s believed to be among the first of its kind."
The Nature Conservancy
(February 11, 2025)
"Today, The Nature Conservancy and the Cumberland Forest Limited Partnership announced new agreements with Sun Tribe Development and ENGIE to develop 14 solar energy and three battery storage projects on 360 acres of former coal mines in the Appalachians. This is the second round of clean energy project announcements from TNC’s Cumberland Forest Project in Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky."
The Washington Post
(March 5, 2025)
"The State Department on Tuesday halted efforts to monitor air quality levels around the world, ending a program that had provided data about a major global health risk."
Nature
(March 5, 2025)
"The aroma of hay and manure hangs over Culpeper County, Virginia, where there’s a cow for every three humans. 'We’ve got big farms, most still family-owned, and a lot of forests,' says Sarah Parmelee, one of the county’s 55,000 residents. 'It’s very charming small-town USA,' she adds."
This article features Land Use Field Representative Sarah Parmelee.
