Contaminated Wells Relocation Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Contaminated Wells Relocation Act allows the NASA Administrator to enter into an agreement for drinking-water well replacement in Chincoteague, Virginia. The practical issue is local well contamination near federal aerospace activity on Virginia's Eastern Shore; the bill gives NASA a direct way to support replacement drinking-water infrastructure rather than leaving affected households and the town to absorb the full cost.
Who Benefits and How
Chincoteague households with contaminated wells benefit from a federal path to replacement drinking-water wells. The Town of Chincoteague benefits because NASA can participate in fixing a local water problem tied to nearby federal operations. Residents relying on private wells benefit from reduced health and reliability risk. NASA Wallops-area community relations benefit from authority to address water impacts near the agency's facilities.
Who Bears the Burden and How
NASA must negotiate and carry out the replacement-well agreement. NASA environmental and facilities staff must document the affected wells and coordinate work with local officials. Federal taxpayers may bear costs for well replacement. Local water and property offices must coordinate access, records, and implementation with NASA.
Key Provisions
- Authorizes NASA to enter an agreement for drinking-water well replacement in Chincoteague, Virginia.
- Provides authority notwithstanding other law so NASA can participate in the local water remedy.
- Requires the remedy to focus on contaminated wells rather than creating a broad national water program.
- Improves local public-health and drinking-water infrastructure by replacing affected wells.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Authorizes NASA to enter an agreement to replace drinking-water wells in Chincoteague, Virginia, where contamination affects local wells near NASA operations.
Key Policy Areas
Water, Public Health, Space
Primary Purpose
Authorizes NASA to enter an agreement to replace drinking-water wells in Chincoteague, Virginia, where contamination affects local wells near NASA operations.
Policy Domains
Bill provisions
Identified Gains
- Chincoteague households with contaminated wells
- Town of Chincoteague
- Private well users
- NASA Wallops-area community relations
Identified Costs
- NASA
- NASA environmental staff
- Federal taxpayers
- Local water offices
Sponsors
Tim Kaine
D-VA | Primary Sponsor
Legislative Progress
ReportedReported by Mr. Cruz, without amendment
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. …
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz …
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported …
Mr. Kaine (for himself and Mr. Warner) introduced the following …
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, …
Introduced in Senate
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Chincoteague households with contaminated wells
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "administrator"
- → NASA Administrator
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