Chincoteague looking for new drinking water, mass transit in Pittsylvania and other Va. headlines

Chincoteague looking for new drinking-water wells 

Figuring out how widespread contamination at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility from dangerous industrial chemicals used in firefighting foams that made their way into drinking water at the nearby island town of Chincoteague will take years, Sarah Rankin from the AP reports. The Eastern Shore tourist town known for the herds of wild ponies that live on nearby Assateague Island has spent $350,000 to buy property for new wells and to drill two test wells — money they hope NASA will reimburse along with the millions it’s expected to cost to develop the new wells.

Louisa zoning board says giant Confederate flag along I-64 violates code

Last March, the flag was erected by the Virginia Flaggers to honor Confederate soldiers, but the zoning administrator for the county has said the flagpole breaks a county code, CBS 19 reports. 

According to the county’s zoning ordinance, other permitted buildings and structures are allowed a 60-foot maximum for height unless a zoning appeal or building permit is approved. The rule excludes certain sites such as silos, church spires and monuments. However, the county says the flagpole reaches 120 feet and claims the Virginia Flaggers didn’t seek approval before installing it.

Mass transit for Pittsylvania County?

The Danville Register & Bee’ Halle Parker reports that Danville Mass Transit Director Marc Adelman presented plans for 14-passenger vans owned by the city to begin routes along U.S. 29, with stops in Chatham, Gretna and Hurt.

The bus route would take residents as far south as Danville and as far north as Hurt for a $2 rate one-way. Riders would then be able to transfer to take a Danville bus in the city or an Altavista bus from Hurt.

Middle Peninsula oyster restoration project will be world’s largest

The Daily Press details ongoing work on what will be the largest “shellfish restoration project on the planet,” on the Piankatank River on the Middle Peninsula, according Andy Lacatell, Virginia Chesapeake Bay director for The Nature Conservancy in Richmond. “So, this is not just locally important, but globally important.”