: News

Filed Under:

Environmentalists Say Beltway Project Threatens Northern Virginia Creek

October 19, 2009
Play associated audio
comments
The plastic fence around this pile of dirt in Fairfax County, Virginia has failed and can no longer stop the dirt from draining into a nearby nature area during heavy rains.
David Schultz
The plastic fence around this pile of dirt in Fairfax County, Virginia has failed and can no longer stop the dirt from draining into a nearby nature area during heavy rains.

The Accotink flows in Fairfax County, just a few hundred yards from the future site of toll lanes on the Capital Beltway.

Kris Unger with the Sierra Club says much of the dredged-up dirt from the Beltway construction project is draining into the creek. He points out a makeshift plastic fence, and the steady trickle of muddy water that's leaking through it.

"As you can see, it's already taking its own path through," he says. "The fence isn't serving any purpose. And you can see silty water going down into Accotink."

The cause of these increased silt deposits in the creek is clear, Unger says: thousands of trees were mowed down to make way for the Beltway project.

"When you open up an area, when you remove the trees and the vegetation that's been holding the dirt in place," Unger says, "That's when you start having these dramatic effects."

Unger is scheduled to meet with Virginia transportation officials on Thursday to discuss the issue.

David Schultz reports...

Arts & Culture

NPR

A Read Down Memory Lane: Lessons From Your Former Self

Writings from childhood — cards, stories and other notes — can hide for decades, like time capsules tucked away in boxes, old bedrooms, attics and journals. Writer Jim Sollisch talks about how old thank you notes from his youth foreshadowed his adult life.

Food

NPR

Inside A Tart Cherry Revival: 'Somebody Needs To Do This!'

The revival is partly based on the humble sour fruit's growing reputation as a superfood. And in Michigan, a scientist is on a quest to introduce a whole new world of hardier, tastier tart cherries by breeding American trees with ancestral varieties from Eastern Europe.

Politics

NPR

Srinivasan's Confirmation First For D.C. Circuit In 7 Years

The partisan war over judicial nominees has accelerated in recent years. It took nearly a year to win Senate confirmation for Sri Srinivasan to the important federal appeals court for the District of Columbia, though he had no formal opposition.

Technology

NPR

3-D Printer Makes Life-Saving Splint For Baby Boy's Airway

A 3-D printer is being credited with helping to save an Ohio baby's life, after doctors "printed" a tube to support a weak airway that caused him to stop breathing. The innovative procedure has allowed Kaiba Gionfriddo, of Youngstown, Ohio, to stay off a ventilator for more than a year.

Leave a Comment

Help keep the conversation civil. Please refer to our Terms of Use and Code of Conduct before posting your comments.