CHINCOTEAGUE, VA—The town of Chincoteague is exploring grant opportunities to relocate its water wells from NASA Wallops Flight Facility to a 32-acre plot of land purchased seven years ago.
NASA first detected P-FAs on Wallops Island in 2017. The "forever chemicals" have been traced back to firefighting drills from the late 19070s to 1988 using a foam containing the contaminant compounds.
"NASA Wallops stepped up right away and allowed us to connect our water supply to their wells," Chincoteague Town Manager Mike Tolbert said.
In 2021, the town began getting water from its own wells again, thanks to a filtration plant built and paid for by NASA.
In a statement issued to WBOC News Friday, NASA Wallops said they are committed to continuing to partner with the town of Chincoteague on a long-term solution to relocate the wells off of NASA property.
"The well relocation, we expect it to be quite expensive," Tolbert said. "It's very challenging because no one wants to award dollars to a project unless you have a good idea of what it's going to cost."
On May 2, the town applied to the Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities (EC-SDC) grant program.
Two Wallops engineers and a UMES grant-writer assisted the town with its application.
"They were a great help in completing the grant," Tolbert said. "Getting them up to snuff so that we could submit those and have a fighting chance of getting an award."
Previously, Virginia lawmakers have introduced legislation to fund the relocation project.
Chincoteague community member Yvonne Bowden said the Island needs a federal advocate from the Eastern Shore.
"We really need to have a representative from this area to go and talk to somebody about it in the Congress or Senate," Bowden said.
Ken Harding, also a Chincoteague local, said he is confident that Mayor Denise Bowden and the town council are working towards the relocation as efficiently as they can.
"We read about the issue with the wells and bringing water to Chincoteague and we really trust Denise Bowden on getting things done and in our best interests," Harding said.
Chincoteague officials tell WBOC News that the $11 million non-competitive EC-SDC grant would go towards developing the well field and connecting transmission lines from the former wells across the causeway.