TAKE ACTION: Say NO to Wetlands and Stream Destruction for Highway Construction!

Update 9/29/22: NOTE: The public comment period has been extended to October 28, 2022. Click here to read and download a copy of Stormwater Partners Network (SWPN), Maryland Advocates for Sustainable Transportation (MAST) and Other Environmental Groups JPA comments. Along with many partners, ANS has continued to fight the wrong-headed decision… Continue reading

A decision on Bles Park is only days away: Your voice is urgently needed!

All photos above are from Bles Park and courtesy of Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy’s Michael Myers.Main photo: Milkweed and main pond at Bles Park. Photos along bottom row: blue-headed vireo, muskrat, great egret, wood duck, solitary sandpiper. 1/21/22 UPDATE from Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy  We thank Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy (LWC) and all… Continue reading

ANS Joins Partners to Support Fairfax County’s Plastic Bag Fee

Thank you, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors! On September 14, 2021, the Board adopted an ordinance enacting a five-cent tax on disposable plastic bags provided by retailers in grocery stores, convenience stores and drugstores within its borders. The City of Alexandria and Arlington County followed suit and enacted the tax… Continue reading

Introducing: Ward 8 Water Watchers at Oxon Run!

Thanks to a Community Stormwater Solutions grant from the DC Department of Energy and Environment and the Chesapeake Bay Trust, last year ANS began a new partnership with food justice and community wellness experts, The Green Scheme and DC Greens. This partnership created the Ward 8 Water Watchers, a coalition… Continue reading

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Weakens Drinking Water Protection

Chris Koerner testifies in favor of stronger drinking water protections during the June 22, 2021 Board of Supervisors Public Hearing on Agritourism Protections in Fairfax County’s “Residential-Conservation” zoned areas around the Occoquan Reservior were weakened on June 22 when the Board of Supervisors voted 7-2 in favor of by-right agritourism… Continue reading

Help us say “no” degrading Fairfax County’s drinking water!

Photo from the Montgomery planning office via the American Planning Association. UPDATE AS OF JUNE 23, 2021 We are incredibly disappointed to report that protections in Fairfax County’s “Residential-Conservation” zoned areas around the Occoquan Reservior were weakened on June 22 when the Board of Supervisors voted 7-2 in favor of… Continue reading

Take Action: Tell DC Mayor Bowser to Get Plastic Bottles Out of Our Water!

Plastic bottles are everywhere. They’re strewn across the streets of our neighborhoods, filling up gutters and alleyways. They’re all over the city’s parks and green spaces, and make it difficult to enjoy nature. Perhaps most visibly, they fill up our waterways, the end point for a large portion of litter.… Continue reading

ANS submits comments on VA’s Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area amendments

During the 2020 General Assembly, a bill was passed which directed the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s State Water Control Board (the Board) to develop and adopt amended regulations applying to Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas (CBPA). The new regulations were meant to assist locales across the state in regulating the… Continue reading

Tell the Board of Public Works: Don’t Move Forward with I-495 (Beltway)/I-270 Highway Widening!

8/2/21 Update!!! The Maryland Board of Public Works (BPW) will be voting on the I-495/I-270 highway expansion project at its upcoming August 11th, 2021 BPW meeting (see items 10-GM and 11-GM in their meeting agenda). Take action now and send a letter to the BPW using the form below before… Continue reading

ANS Testifies at DC Council Performance Oversight Hearings

It seems like just yesterday that we were in the middle of last year’s budget process in Washington, DC. Once again we find ourselves balancing our city-wide checkbook, but this time in preparation for the 2022 fiscal year. Before DC’s proposed budget is released though, the DC Council holds performance… Continue reading