NOVA Parks Raises Concerns Over Tree Clearing on W&OD Trail

After Dominion Energy cleared four miles of trees along the W&OD Trail in Fairfax County, Loudoun supervisors this week directed the staff to find out more about the potential impacts on this side of the county line and to push for more restrained pruning.

In a letter from NOVA Parks Executive Director Paul Gilbert to Dominion Energy, Gilbert said the utility was planning to cut most of the trees along a 33-mile stretch of the trail that aligns with transmission line rights-of-way including part of the trail that passes through to Leesburg.

“We know from the first four miles that have been cut from Vienna to Dunn Loring that Dominion is clearing all flora across the entirety of the Dominion right-of-way, not just the trees posing a threat to or potentially interfering with the power lines. This is a significant departure from past practices and long-standing [memorandum of understanding] where Dominion has cut trees selectively based on their proximity and direct threat to transmission lines,” Gilbert wrote.

Gilbert asked Dominion to look at a more selective tree trimming strategy that more closely aligns with how foliage along the trail has been managed for decades. Gilbert also asked for Dominion to expand replanting efforts, consider increasing the tree height limit from 10 to 20 feet in areas that are further from Dominion’s infrastructure, provide the public with the specific areas that will be replanted, and to notify property owners near the clearing locations in advance.

NOVA Parks also recommended that the Loudoun Board of Supervisors support the position of selective tree trimming.

On March 17, Dominion Electric Transmission Forestry & Line Services Manager Amanda Keys wrote a letter to County Administrator Tim Hemstreet saying that the North American Reliability Corporation has changed its regulations and standards for vegetative maintenance and that Dominion is performing a comprehensive engineering review of vegetation along the trail.

“Failure to comply with these [more stringent] requirements could jeopardize the reliability of our customers’ electric service and result in substantial fines. It has been 20 years since Dominion Energy has performed significant forestry maintenance along this transmission corridor. Since that time, the vegetation growth in the area has become a risk to the safety and reliability of the grid,” according to the letter.

Keys affirmed the company’s commitment to continue working with NOVA Parks to find a solution that supports the trail’s natural habitat and environment and to keeping Loudoun and the community informed of the project’s scope.

“Dominion Energy values its positive relationship with Loudoun County and NOVA Parks. We understand the importance of supporting a cherished community feature, such as the W&OD Trail, while also ensuring critical energy reliability and safety for all customers in the area and across the Commonwealth,” Keys wrote.

Dominion Transmission Communications Consultant Rob Richardson attended the board’s March 18 meeting virtually to address questions and concerns by supervisors.

“Is this discussion because of power lines?” County Chair Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) asked. “Is this discussion because it’s just too much to scale back and to trim the trees? Why are we doing this now? And why did we learn about this is in such a short amount of time?”

Richardson said the company is working on a transmission line project along the portion of the trail.

“The trees in that area had grown up and were causing some reliability concerns for us and so during that time we decided to look at the rest of the trail, about 36 miles or so, and we’ve identified what we think are reliability concerns along the trail,” he said.

Randall asked if those concerns could be addressed through trimming, rather than clearing.

“I wouldn’t say they have to be clear cut, but some of the trees are going to have to be removed,” Richardson said.

Supervisor Juli E. Briskman (D-Algonkian) said shade along the trail is important for pedestrians and cyclists.

“It is dangerous not to have shade on that black top trail,” she said.

Vice Chair Michael R. Turner (D-Ashburn) asked if the clearing was being done to make way for new transmission lines along the trail.

“Absolutely not, that’s 100% not what we’re planning to do,” Richardson said.

Dominion’s goal is to keep trees from falling on transmission lines providing power to the region, he added. The company holds the easements along the trail with NOVA Parks that allows them to maintain the vegetation as needed.

The utility is accessing how best to move forward.

“The pause is simply because we felt sort of a wave of opposition and concern and we are responsive to the community,” Richardson said. “So, the way that we can be responsive is we can say let’s take a pause, let’s take another look, let’s make sure that we’re doing the best job that we can, as Supervisor Briskman said, to make sure that we’re not removing trees that don’t need to be removed.”

Randall asked for better and earlier communication from Dominion as well as more collaboration with NOVA Parks.

“I would ask that in every way possible you instead do trimming back instead of cutting,” she said.

Supervisors approved a motion to support continuation of past vegetation management practices on a 7-0 vote with supervisors Caleb A. Kershner (R-Catoctin) and Koran T. Saines (D-Sterling) absent.