County Board members have voted to consider a transition period of between 18 and 36 months to potentially phase out gas-powered leaf blowers.
On a 5-0 vote, Board members advertised a July public hearing for final action. The proposal features a potential implementation timetable that is longer than some environmental activists want but shorter than some industry leaders say is feasible.
County Board members are approaching an initial vote on potentially prohibiting gas-powered leaf-blowers, but it’s still unclear when such a ban would go into effect.
The Board is slated to vote this Saturday on setting a a public hearing for next month that could start the clock ticking. County staff is sticking with its past recommendation for a three-year phase-in period, unswayed by recommendations by a number of advisory panels for a shorter phase-in period.
A potential ban on gas-powered leaf blowers in Arlington is moving forward, with county staff preparing draft regulations for community and County Board consideration.
Board action as early as this summer could start the clock ticking on a multi-year phaseout period.
County Board members have approved new rooftop solar panels at four more county buildings, including Central Library.
Collectively, the installations are anticipated to save the county government about $850,000 in utility costs over a 25-year period.
A year-round ban on gas-powered leaf blowers, with a three-year phase-out period, is likely to be considered by County Board members later this year.
A county staff recommendation to that effect received no significant pushback from any Board members during a Feb. 24 meeting.
One of the fiercest advocates for action and advocacy after last month’s mass sewage spill has a long background in fighting for the Potomac River.
Potomac Riverkeeper Dean Naujoks was one of the first at the scene of the burst Potomac Interceptor pipe in Montgomery County on Jan. 19.
Tests of water samples from the Potomac River are reporting dangerously high levels of E. coli following a rupture in a sewage pipe upstream from Arlington.
The Potomac Riverkeeper Network recorded bacteria levels 60 times higher than what is considered safe for human contact in a sample taken at Fletchers Cove on Friday, the organization announced in a press release yesterday (Monday). This is in D.C., across the river from Potomac Overlook Regional Park.
Concerns about monitoring and managing chemicals at Arlington County’s Water Pollution Control Plant have prompted a public hearing this week.
The hearing is a follow-up to a public comment period last September and October, where advocates sought amendments to the draft permit related to limitations and best management practices for PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances), also known as “forever chemicals.”
The county government’s arborist is pushing back on accusations that an iconic tree was removed needlessly from a Lyon Park median.
But local residents aghast at the removal aren’t letting the county government off the hook for its actions.
Staff and volunteers at Virginia Cooperative Extension put on a showcase of the year gone by and plans for the future last week.
From healthier meals to more energy-efficient living, those serving Arlington out of the Fairlington Community Center shared their experience helping thousands of local residents this year and every year.
A key county advisory panel likes the proposal to ban gas-powered leaf blowers countywide, but doesn’t want to get too far into the weeds on specifics right now.
Members of the Arlington Park and Recreation Commission on Oct. 28 agreed to send a letter to County Board members, expressing support for the concept of outlawing gas blowers.
With leaves falling along with autumn temperatures, Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia is pleading with local property owners not to rake and remove all their leaves from yards.
“There are many ways you can use them rather than sending them to the landfill,” said Claudia Gerwin, who on Oct. 3 led an online program for Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Arlington-Alexandria office.
