NASA pays to fix its own contaminated wells in Virginia town
H.R. 1419 — Contaminated Wells Relocation Act · Filed by Jennifer Kiggans (R-VA) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Feb 18, 2025 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill authorizes NASA to reimburse the Town of Chincoteague, Virginia, for costs to remove and replace drinking water wells contaminated by NASA operations on its property. NASA may enter into a five-year agreement to pay for planning, removal, relocation, and construction of replacement wells on town-controlled land, with the agreement details reported to Congress within 18 months.
Why we flagged it
The bill is a targeted environmental remediation measure holding a federal agency financially responsible for contamination it caused on its own property. It is a narrow, localized accountability provision, not a broad policy or appropriation.
What the text implies
- Establishes precedent that NASA may be held financially responsible for environmental contamination on its properties, potentially exposing the agency to similar claims at other facilities.
- Five-year reimbursement window creates a defined endpoint; if remediation extends beyond that period, the town may bear costs for completion or ongoing maintenance.
- Congressional reporting requirement (18 months) creates public accountability but does not mandate approval—NASA retains discretion to enter the agreement unilaterally.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Residents of Chincoteague gain access to safe drinking water without bearing the cost of remediation for contamination caused by federal operations on NASA property. The bill shifts financial responsibility from a small town to the federal agency responsible for the contamination, a standard environmental accountability principle.
Who stands to gain
- Town of Chincoteague, Virginia
Named in the bill
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Town of Chincoteague, Virginia, House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.
- Feb 18, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Feb 18, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,905 characters) on Aug 12, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“NASA pays to fix its own contaminated wells in Virginia town” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr1419 Report an error
The week in bills
One email, Sunday: what Congress passed, what it changed, and who paid.
One link arrives to confirm the address. It is used for this email and nothing else, and every issue carries an unsubscribe link.