The Noman M. Cole Jr. Pollution Control Plant is an award-winning wastewater treatment plant owned and operated by Fairfax County Government and is located in Lorton, VA. The plant's treatment process is safe, reliable and cost-effective. The continuous operations result in effluent quality that consistently meets – or surpasses – strict national and state water quality requirements.
Plant Tours
Plant tours are temporarily suspended and will resume in fall 2023. The Noman M. Cole Jr. Pollution Control Plant offers tours of its wastewater treatment facility to the public March through November. Tours take approximately two hours and include a half-hour presentation followed by a walking tour.
Environmental Services
The Noman M. Cole Jr., Pollution Control plant is at the heart of Fairfax County's Wastewater environmental services.
In the Washington area, he might be best known for his eloquent and effective advocacy of clean water and his efforts to improve the Potomac River. He was principal author of the 1971 Occoquan Watershed Policy, which prompted establishment of the Upper Occoquan Sewage Authority and the creation of one of the world's most advanced sewage treatment plants.
Excerpt from Washington Post, "Noman M. Cole, Jr. Dies At 63", By Richard Pearson, February 4, 1997