To authorize the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to reimburse the Town of Chincoteague, Virginia, for costs directly associated with the removal and replacement of certain drinking water wells.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMrs. Kiggans of Virginia (for herself and Mr. Subramanyam) introduced …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Contaminated Wells Relocation Act authorizes NASA to reimburse the Town of Chincoteague, Virginia for costs associated with removing three contaminated drinking water wells currently located on NASA property and establishing replacement wells on town-controlled property. The bill provides a five-year window for NASA to enter into a reimbursement agreement with the town.
Who Benefits and How
The Town of Chincoteague and its residents are the primary beneficiaries. The town receives reimbursement from NASA for all costs directly related to well relocation, including planning, site development, engineering, design, permitting, and construction. This relieves the town of the financial burden of replacing wells that were contaminated due to their location on federal property.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Federal taxpayers bear the cost through NASA appropriations. NASA must allocate funds to reimburse Chincoteague for the full cost of relocating these wells, which includes purchasing or leasing new property for the replacement wells.
Key Provisions
- NASA may enter into a reimbursement agreement with Chincoteague for up to five years
- Reimbursement covers planning, engineering, design, permitting, construction, and property acquisition for replacement wells
- The agreement must include provisions for removing and relocating the three remaining contaminated wells
- NASA must report the agreement to relevant Congressional committees within 18 months of enactment
- Specific oversight assigned to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Authorizes NASA to reimburse the Town of Chincoteague, Virginia for costs associated with removing contaminated drinking water wells from NASA property and establishing replacement wells.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Address local environmental contamination issue caused by federal facility operations through targeted reimbursement authority"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Town of Chincoteague, Virginia
- Chincoteague residents affected by contaminated wells
Likely Burden Bearers
- NASA (through federal appropriations)
- Federal taxpayers
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_administrator"
- → Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology