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Dominion Energy must provide at least 30 days’ notice before major maintenance projects affect the Washington & Old Dominion Trail under a new agreement with NOVA Parks.
The memorandum of understanding follows months of negotiations and public pressure sparked by extensive tree clearing between Vienna and Dunn Loring. It establishes new rules intended to protect the electrical grid while preserving the natural character of the 45-mile W&OD Railroad Regional Park.
Dominion must notify NOVA Parks, neighboring jurisdictions and nearby residents by mail before transmission and major maintenance work. Signs must also be posted along the trail.
Before NOVA Parks approves the removal of trees and shrubs, the utility must submit an inventory of affected trees along with a map and schedule identifying areas eligible for restoration.
Dominion Energy Senior Vice President of Electric Transmission Joe Woomer said the agreement balances grid safety and reliability with long-term stewardship of the park.
NOVA Parks Executive Director Justin Wilson said it reflects a shared commitment to community health and the region’s natural resources. The plan favors careful pruning where possible and calls for habitat restoration through invasive-species management, native plantings and pollinator areas.
Widespread cutting prompted backlash
Concerns intensified in fall 2024, when crews replacing a transmission line cleared trees along roughly four miles of the trail from Vienna to Dunn Loring. NOVA Parks, nearby residents and Town of Vienna officials questioned the scale of the work.
Dominion subsequently withdrew from a voluntary vegetation-management agreement that had governed work along the trail since 2005. Adopted after an earlier public outcry over widespread clearing, that agreement generally limited cutting to trees directly threatening power lines—mostly those at least 15 feet tall—and required the utility to replace removed trees.
The utility argued that those restrictions were no longer workable under updated federal regulations. Dominion also said tree growth since 2005 had become an unacceptable threat to a grid facing higher electricity demand, driven partly by data centers.
Dominion initially declined to negotiate a replacement agreement and offered NOVA Parks $50,000 instead. Objections from elected officials representing communities along the trail, including Fairfax County, ultimately led the utility to pause most planned clearing in March and enter talks with park leaders.
The resulting agreement recognizes Dominion’s responsibility to remove vegetation that could interfere with power lines while establishing restoration practices and greater public transparency.
It also requires annual inspections of Dominion facilities for vegetation-related hazards and sets out methods for controlling invasive plants while expanding native vegetation and pollinator habitat.
Restoration and Reston work
The agreement formally includes Dominion’s pledge to restore portions of the corridor between the Clark substation in Vienna and the Idylwood substation in Dunn Loring that were cleared during the transmission-line project.
By the end of 2025, crews had planted pollinator meadows and native, low-growing trees and shrubs in selected areas.
Additional vegetation work near Reston was scheduled to begin Jan. 20, including routine pruning, invasive-species removal and the elimination of 19 trees identified as hazards. The project was expected to last two to three months.
Winter Storm Fern, which passed through Fairfax County on Jan. 25, disrupted that schedule. Dominion Northern Virginia community relations manager Aisha Khan said snow and ice delayed general maintenance between the Hunter and Reston substations. The utility expects to finish that section within two to three weeks after the snow melts.