February 24, 2026 Environmental Committee - Feb 24, 2026

meeting

Fairfax County Board Committees 1h 31m 6 speakers 8 agenda items transcribed 2 days ago official recording ↗

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What were the key highlights and achievements of Fairfax County’s environmental programs in 2025?

Rachna Sizemore Heizer 0:06

All right. Well, good morning and welcome to our first Environmental Committee meeting of 2026. I'm Supervisor Dalia Pelchik, delighted to be the new chair of the Environmental Committee. And I just want to definitely highlight that I get to be here with a strong foundation of having had some really, really excellent committed and dedicated chairs to our environmental committee, including most recently now Congressman Walkinshaw and Diane Stork. DELIGHTED TO BE HERE. TODAY IS REALLY JUST KIND OF A RECAP OF LAST YEAR AND THE HIGHLIGHTS THAT OCCURRED LAST YEAR AS WELL AS LOOKING AT THE YEAR AHEAD AND THEN HAVING OUR ANNUAL REPORT FROM THE EQUAC COMMITTEE. I SEE THE CHAIRMAN AND MANY OF THEM ARE HERE TO PRESENT TODAY.

Rachna Sizemore Heizer 1:00

BEFORE WE GET STARTED, JUST WANT TO ASK THOSE WHO WERE IN ATTENDANCE, A MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE LAST YEAR, YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED THE NOTES IN THE LAST COMMITTEE MEETING, LOOKING TO SEE IF THERE ARE ANY COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, CONCERNS. No. All right. Well, we're really, really delighted. Before I turn it over to John Morrill, the director of the Office of Environmental and Energy, Office of Environment and Energy Conservation. We just really want to, I really want to thank him and his team for the highlights of last year and just remind us all that it really is, you know, joint partnership. His office, not too differently from the equity office, really is here to work with all of our agencies, especially our Department of Public Works.

Rachna Sizemore Heizer 1:48

And I know I saw Chris Harrington here earlier, as well as transportation. We just finished the Transportation Committee. And as we know, the number one emitter of greenhouse gases is actually transportation. So the work that's done across the county that we control is critical, especially at a time when it may be more challenging. to expect or count on some of the federal support that was there in the past. And to that, I know some of us have gotten some questions around the wastewater spillage. That is not something we are discussing today. But interestingly, because my... My team and I got a chance to tour the Norman Cole plant in October and just saw how impressive is some of the work that's being done in the county to ensure that we continue to have access to clean water.

Rachna Sizemore Heizer 2:38

I have asked and we have included reviewing and ensuring that we look at both our clean water and the work done by Fairfax Water as well as the Department of Public Works. And what we do that's often invisible when it's working well is the infrastructure that keeps our county moving, that keeps our wastewater moving, and allows us to continue to have access to clean water here in Fairbanks County, which we absolutely should not take for granted. um so to that i will turn it over to uh john moral who's going to give us a little bit of some of the highlights from last year and looking at the initiatives for this coming year for 2026 i know i've had an opportunity to connect with most of you i think some of my colleagues we're still trying to find a good time to connect on your environmental goals and initiatives and so feel free to share some today

Rachna Sizemore Heizer 3:35

or we can continue to discuss that as we have an opportunity to have a one-on-one meeting soon. So now I will turn it over to Mr. Morrill.

John Morrill 3:44

Thank you very much. Good morning, Madam Chair and members of the Board of Supervisors. I'm John Morrill with the Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination. I'm happy to begin with a brief summary, a sample of environmental successes for Fairfax County in 2025. Last fall, our office launched the Energy Compass program, advising residents with decisions to make their homes more efficient and comfortable with lower environmental burden. We continue to promote this program and are in touch with our neighboring jurisdictions to maximize collaboration and information sharing. Last November, I appeared before this body and described the difficulties we're having identifying suitable electric alternatives to many county vehicle types.

John Morrill 4:32

But the Department of Vehicle Services continues to add more electric vehicles and fuel efficient vehicles when they are available and suitable to our agencies.