Approved June 25, 2024

A hybrid meeting held in the Suite 921 of the Herrity Building and virtually via Microsoft Teams.                                                   

Ms. Bordas called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m. Those present included:

• Adria Bordas, Director and Committee Chair, NVSWCD
• Rhonda Bitterli, Director, NVSWCD
• Jim McGlone, NVSWCD Associate Director
• Willie Woode, Executive Director, NVSWCD
• Morgan Perpall, DPWES-SWPD
• Zoe Brennan, NVSWCD
• Meghan Cunha, NVSWCD
• Judy Fraser, NVSWCD
• Denisa Hendriyadi, NVSWCD
• Heather Hunter-Nickels, NVSWCD
• Dan Schwartz, NVSWCD
• Sophia Wood*, NVSWCD
• Austin Hope*

* =Virtual Attendance

INTRODUCTIONS
Attending her first committee meeting, Zoe Brennan introduced herself to the committee members and vice versa. Ms. Brennan is a senior at Westfields High School who is interning with NVSWCD as part of her school’s Finish Strong career shadowing program.

MINUTES

The Committee reviewed the minutes from the April 9^th, 2024, meeting. Ms. Perpall noted one punctuation error. A motion to approve the minutes as revised (Woode-McGlone) passed without objection.
 

CONSERVATION PLANS AND AGRICULTURAL BMPS

Ms. Hunter-Nickels presented two Soil and Water Quality Conservation Plans for review by the Committee.
 

Burgundy Stable Conservation Plan
Burgundy Stables is a 6-acre equestrian property in the Cameron Run Watershed associated with the neighboring Burgundy Country Day School. Five of the acres are in agricultural use. The owners contacted Ms. Hunter-Nickels for a voluntary Conservation Plan.

There is no RPA on the property, but there are steep slopes. Five horses currently board at the stables, but the owners wish to increase this number to 7 and add new equestrian trails in the woods. The pasture is bare in spots because of the high stocking rate. The paddock area is particularly muddy and bare. The horses spend a lot of time here and the area receives runoff from the roof of the stables. One of ownership’s primary goals is to improve the conditions in the paddock.

The operation creates 57 tons of manure annually, too much to spread on the small pasture. Manure is stored in wooden bins, but the wood is starting to rot and fall apart. The manure is not fully composting, and flies are an issue.

Highlighted suggestions from the Conservation Plan include the following:

• Arrange to have manure hauled off regularly, and consider replacing the wooden bins with a metal dumpster.
• Regrade the paddocks and add grass strips along the contour to intercept runoff.
• Add footing material—such as gravel—to the area around the water troughs.
• Aerate the pasture annually.
• Install downspouts and gutters on the stables that direct roof runoff away from the paddock.
• Stabilize and cover any future equestrian trails.

Hantslot Agricultural and Forestal District
The Hantslot property consists of 25-acres in the Popes Head Creek Watershed; 9-acres are forested, 16-acres are grassed, and there is no current agricultural activity. The property has 1,500 linear feet of RPA and a 500 square foot pond. The slopes around the pond are steep. The property has an issue with invasive species—particularly Autumn olive—but the owners hire a contractor to routinely contain and cut it back. The owners wish to keep the grassed areas to maintain their current viewshed. The pond contained no visible Trapa bispinosa presence.

Highlighted suggestions from the Conservation Plan include the following:

• Follow the Nutrient Management Plan for the grassed areas.
• Continue to manage the invasive species.
• Immediately revegetate any bare or disturbed areas.
• When removing invasive species from the RPA, replace them with native plants.
• Seek advice from LDS about necessary permits before dredging the pond.
• Enhance the RPA buffer on the west side of the stream.

Committee members discuss whether permits are needed for any work in the RPA. Ms. Hunter-Nickels states that she believes that the Conservation Plan acts as the RPA permit for Agricultural and Forestal properties.

A motion (Schwartz-McGlone) to recommend approval of the two Soil and Water Quality Conservation Plans by the NVSWCD Board at their May meeting passes without objection.

CAP-VCAP PROGRAM
Ms. Fraser and Mr. Schwartz presented five new applications and seven reimbursement requests to the CAP and VCAP programs. Ms. Fraser mentions that for projects seeking VCAP funding, the state Steering Committee is the ultimate arbiter of what gets funded. As such, she will present these projects more briefly at this and future committee meetings. She will continue to present CAP-funded projects in more detail, as it is the NVSWCD Board—acting on the advice of the Technical Review Committee—which has final say on approval of these projects.

NEW APPLICATIONS

Dadkah Rainwater Harvesting: Vienna, Hunter Mill District, Difficult  Run Watershed

• Applicant is proposing rerouting two downspouts to drain 800 ft² of rooftop into a 500-gallon cistern.
• The new gutters will be equipped with gutter guards and the downspouts will have leaf filters.
• The cistern will have an attached pump and will be used to irrigate raised vegetable beds and landscaping beds. The overflow will empty into a native meadow.
• Size – 500 gallons; Cost Estimate - $10,203.18; Cost-Share Request - $1,900.

DeGroff Conservation Landscaping: Herndon, Dranesville District, Sugarland Run Watershed

• Applicants wish to install a very large conservation landscaping project with funding from VCAP.
• Size – 2,166 ft²; Cost Estimate - $10,685.50; Cost-Share Request - $7,000.
• Ms. Fraser mentioned her concerns about the fast flow of runoff and made suggestions to the applicants about protecting the new plants from erosion.
   

Khalid Conservation Landscaping: Burke, Springfield District, Pohick Creek Watershed

• Applicant’s home is a newer property with a public storm drain in the back.
• A dry creek bed leads to the storm drain, but applicant is not pleased with its functioning. Proposes planting along the edge of the dry creek bed with natives.
• Size – 2,460 ft²; Cost Estimate - $12,171; Cost-Share Request - $7,000.
• Mr. McGlone noticed that the site pictures included two trees that appear to have extensive fungi growth on their trunks, a likely sign of disease. Given that they directly border the proposed conservation landscaping, he recommends that an arborist examine the trees and determine if they should be removed before the new landscaping is installed.
• Ms. Hunter-Nickels asks if stilt grass is present. It is, but Mr. McGlone thinks that if the new plants are densely spaced, they can crowd out the stilt grass.

Springfield Oaks Conservation Landscaping: Springfield, Mount Vernon District, Accotink Creek Watershed

• The HOA is interested in landscaping at several locations in their extensive common areas, but for this application they are concentrating on an eroded area along Alban Rd.
• The area has lots of exposed tree roots on a shady, steep slope leading down to the roadway.
• This is a very large project and the community is most interested in a quick vegetative cover rather than diversity. They have a plan that uses several hundred pots of Virginia creeper spread as ground cover around about 70 shrubs. They are very open to revisions of the planting plan.
• Size – 8,798 ft²; Cost Estimate - $35,5225.78; Cost-Share Request - $7,000.
• The Committee recommends the following:
  • Cut back on the number and size of Virginia creeper plants. Smaller sizes will cause less root disturbance, and the spreading nature of the Virginia creeper means that a few go a long way. The area can be overseeded with Virginia wild rye as a nurse crop.
  • Mr. McGlone says the species in the current plan don’t all grow well together, but it is not known which ones will perform well because a soils test hasn’t yet been done.
  • Do soil testing to understand the current conditions—particularly pH—before finalizing the planting plan. Use the test results to guide the final planting plan.
  • Use smaller plants—particularly plugs and bare root seedlings—rather than the larger pots currently proposed.

Ms. Fraser will present these recommendations to the HOA and pull this application from consideration for now. When a revised planting plan is returned, the committee will vote on it.

Yinger Conservation Landscaping: Oakton, Providence District, Difficult Run Watershed

• The property sits on a summit between two incised drainageways.
• Applicants wish to plant the slope on the left side of the property, including a small bed in the front and a larger bed along the rear of the property between the deck and the fence.
• The planting plan uses primarily small trees and shrubs.
• Size – 1,884 ft²; Cost Estimate - $5,898.83; Cost-Share Request - $4,719.06.
• Ms. Fraser asks if the removal of the flagstones should be considered impervious surface removal. After discussion, the Committee agrees that it can be due to specific characteristics of the stones, but future projects like this will be judged on a case-by-case basis.

REIMBURESMENT REQUESTS

Dossani Conservation Landscaping: Great Falls, Dranesville District, Difficult Run Watershed

• Applicant densely planted a grassed drainage swale.
• Plants are caged to prevent root tear out by fast-flowing runoff.
• Size – 475 ft²; Total Cost - $7,220.25; Cost-Share Request - $5,776.20

Beauchemin Conservation Landscaping: City of Alexandria, Four Mile Run Watershed

• Large front and backyard planting.
• Size – 1,760ft²; Total Cost - $25,085.82; Cost-Share Request - $7,000

Deaver Conservation Landscaping: Alexandria, Mount Vernon District, Cameron Run Watershed

• Smaller planting project that converted the whole front yard of a duplex from grass to natives.
• Project was within the RPA, but the homeowner received approval from the county.
• Size – 495 ft²; Total Cost - $9,667.18; Cost-Share Request - $6,990.61

Smith Conservation Landscaping: Vienna, Hunter Mill District, Difficult Run Watershed

• Homeowner planted a steep slope next to the house where a tree had been removed and the soil was left bare.
• There were deer seen during the inspection, and some plants have already been nibbled.
• Ms. Fraser suggested the homeowners put up temporary fencing to protect the plants.
• Size – 975 ft²; Total Cost - $6,675.12; Cost-Share Request - $5,340.10

Knott Conservation Landscaping: Burke, Braddock District, Pohick Creek Watershed

• This partially do-it-yourself project uses native plants to soak up runoff coming from Rolling Rd that flows into the backyard.
• The project was planted in fall and some plants did not survive. Some of the dead plants have already been replaced.
• The project has sparked the interest of the homeowners and they intend to expand the project in the future.
• Size – 512 ft²; Total Cost - $2,513.50; Cost-Share Request - $2,010.80

Jabaley Conservation Landscaping: Annandale, Braddock District, Accotink Creek Watershed

• A large project that planted the right side of the house up to the driveway and a large portion of the backyard.
• The plantings intercept downspout runoff in the rear of the house.
• Size – 2,392 ft²; Cost Estimate - $14,427,14; Cost-Share Request - $7,000

Chadds Ford Cluster: Reston, Hunter Mill District, Difficult Run Watershed

• Cluster redesigned a dry creek bed to include two coir logs across the swale that push water into semi-circle-shaped native planting beds lined with rock.
• The idea is to slow down and soak up some runoff that currently flows to the neighboring cluster, causing some minor erosion.
• Size – 106 ft²; Cost Estimate - $5,570; Cost-Share Request - $4,136
• The committee suggests removing some of the rocks around the new planting stems to allow the plants to spread.

A motion (McGlone-Woode) to recommend approval by the NVSWCD Board at their May meeting of all CAP-VCAP applications, with the exception of the Springfield Oaks project, and all CAP-VCAP reimbursement requests presented today passes without objection.

May 2024 CAP-VCAP Applications

ADJOURNMENT
Due to scheduling conflicts, the June 2024 TRC meeting will be moved to Wednesday, June 12^th at 1 pm.