In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

December 6, 2006.

Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 214) entitled 

‘‘An Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to cooperate with the States on the border with Mexico and other appropriate entities in conducting a hydrogeologic characterization, mapping, and modeling program for priority 

transboundary aquifers, and for other purposes’’, do pass 

with the following

AMENDMENT:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States-Mexico 

3 Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

5 The purpose of this Act is to direct the Secretary of 

6 the Interior to establish a United States-Mexico 

7 transboundary aquifer assessment program to systemati8 cally assess priority transboundary aquifers. 

9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 
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1 (1) AQUIFER.—The term ‘‘aquifer’’ means a sub2 surface water-bearing geologic formation from which 

3 significant quantities of water may be extracted. 

4 (2) IBWC.—The term ‘‘IBWC’’ means the Inter5 national Boundary and Water Commission, an agen6 cy of the Department of State. 

7 (3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

8 means an Indian tribe, band, nation, or other orga9 nized group or community—

10 (A) that is recognized as eligible for the spe11 cial programs and services provided by the 

12 United States to Indians because of their status 

13 as Indians; and 

14 (B) the reservation of which includes a 

15 transboundary aquifer within the exterior bound16 aries of the reservation. 

17 (4) PARTICIPATING STATE.—The term ‘‘Partici18 pating State’’ means each of the States of Arizona, 

19 New Mexico, and Texas. 

20 (5) PRIORITY TRANSBOUNDARY AQUIFER.—The 

21 term ‘‘priority transboundary aquifer’’ means a 

22 transboundary aquifer that has been designated for 

23 study and analysis under the program. 
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1 (6) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means the 

2 United States-Mexico transboundary aquifer assess3 ment program established under section 4(a). 

4 (7) RESERVATION.—The term ‘‘reservation’’ 

5 means land that has been set aside or that has been 

6 acknowledged as having been set aside by the United 

7 States for the use of an Indian tribe, the exterior 

8 boundaries of which are more particularly defined in 

9 a final tribal treaty, agreement, executive order, Fed10 eral statute, secretarial order, or judicial determina11 tion. 

12 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

13 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di14 rector of the United States Geological Survey. 

15 (9) TRANSBOUNDARY AQUIFER.—The term 

16 ‘‘transboundary aquifer’’ means an aquifer that 

17 underlies the boundary between a Participating State 

18 and Mexico. 

19 (10) TRI-REGIONAL PLANNING GROUP.—The term 

20 ‘‘Tri-Regional Planning Group’’ means the binational 

21 planning group comprised of—

22 (A) the Junta Municipal de Agua y 

23 Saneamiento de Ciudad Juarez; 

24 (B) the El Paso Water Utilities Public 

25 Service Board; and 
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1 (C) the Lower Rio Grande Water Users Or2 ganization. 

3 (11) WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH INSTI4 TUTES.—The term ‘‘water resources research insti5 tutes’’ means the institutes within the Participating 

6 States established under section 104 of the Water Re7 sources Research Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10303). 

8 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation and 

10 cooperation with the Participating States, the water re11 sources research institutes, Sandia National Laboratories, 

12 and other appropriate entities in the United States and 

13 Mexico, and the IBWC, as appropriate, shall carry out the 

14 United States-Mexico transboundary aquifer assessment 

15 program to characterize, map, and model priority 

16 transboundary aquifers along the United States-Mexico bor17 der at a level of detail determined to be appropriate for 

18 the particular aquifer. 

19 (b) OBJECTIVES.—The objectives of the program are 

20 to—

21 (1) develop and implement an integrated sci22 entific approach to identify and assess priority 

23 transboundary aquifers, including—
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1 (A) for purposes of subsection (c)(2), speci2 fying priority transboundary aquifers for further 

3 analysis by assessing—

4 (i) the proximity of a proposed pri5 ority transboundary aquifer to areas of high 

6 population density; 

7 (ii) the extent to which a proposed pri8 ority transboundary aquifer would be used; 

9 (iii) the susceptibility of a proposed 

10 priority transboundary aquifer to contami11 nation; and 

12 (iv) any other relevant criteria; 

13 (B) evaluating all available data and publi14 cations as part of the development of study plans 

15 for each priority transboundary aquifer; 

16 (C) creating a new, or enhancing an exist17 ing, geographic information system database to 

18 characterize the spatial and temporal aspects of 

19 each priority transboundary aquifer; and 

20 (D) using field studies, including support 

21 for and expansion of ongoing monitoring and 

22 metering efforts, to develop—

23 (i) the additional data necessary to 

24 adequately define aquifer characteristics; 

25 and 
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1 (ii) scientifically sound groundwater 

2 flow models to assist with State and local 

3 water management and administration, in4 cluding modeling of relevant groundwater 

5 and surface water interactions; 

6 (2) consider the expansion or modification of ex7 isting agreements, as appropriate, between the United 

8 States Geological Survey, the Participating States, 

9 the water resources research institutes, and appro10 priate authorities in the United States and Mexico, 

11 to—

12 (A) conduct joint scientific investigations; 

13 (B) archive and share relevant data; and 

14 (C) carry out any other activities consistent 

15 with the program; and 

16 (3) produce scientific products for each priority 

17 transboundary aquifer that—

18 (A) are capable of being broadly distributed; 

19 and 

20 (B) provide the scientific information need21 ed by water managers and natural resource 

22 agencies on both sides of the United States-Mex23 ico border to effectively accomplish the missions 

24 of the managers and agencies. 
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1 (c) DESIGNATION OF PRIORITY TRANSBOUNDARY

2 AQUIFERS.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of the program, 

4 the Secretary shall designate as priority 

5 transboundary aquifers—

6 (A) the Hueco Bolson and Mesilla aquifers 

7 underlying parts of Texas, New Mexico, and 

8 Mexico; 

9 (B) the Santa Cruz River Valley aquifers 

10 underlying Arizona and Sonora, Mexico; and 

11 (C) the San Pedro aquifers underlying Ari12 zona and Sonora, Mexico. 

13 (2) ADDITIONAL AQUIFERS.—The Secretary may, 

14 using the criteria under subsection (b)(1)(A), evaluate 

15 and designate additional priority transboundary 

16 aquifers which underlie New Mexico or Texas. 

17 (d) COOPERATION WITH MEXICO.—To ensure a com18 prehensive assessment of priority transboundary aquifers, 

19 the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 

20 work with appropriate Federal agencies and other organi21 zations to develop partnerships with, and receive input 

22 from, relevant organizations in Mexico to carry out the pro23 gram. 

24 (e) GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The 

25 Secretary may provide grants or enter into cooperative 
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1 agreements and other agreements with the water resources 

2 research institutes and other Participating State entities to 

3 carry out the program. 

4 SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAM. 

5 (a) COORDINATION WITH STATES, TRIBES, AND

6 OTHER ENTITIES.—The Secretary shall coordinate the ac7 tivities carried out under the program with—

8 (1) the appropriate water resource agencies in 

9 the Participating States; 

10 (2) any affected Indian tribes; 

11 (3) any other appropriate entities that are con12 ducting monitoring and metering activity with re13 spect to a priority transboundary aquifer; and 

14 (4) the IBWC, as appropriate. 

15 (b) NEW ACTIVITY.—After the date of enactment of this 

16 Act, the Secretary shall not initiate any new field studies 

17 or analyses under the program before consulting with, and 

18 coordinating the activity with, any Participating State 

19 water resource agencies that have jurisdiction over the aqui20 fer. 

21 (c) STUDY PLANS; COST ESTIMATES.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall work 

23 closely with appropriate Participating State water 

24 resource agencies, water resources research institutes, 

25 and other relevant entities to develop a study plan, 
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1 timeline, and cost estimate for each priority 

2 transboundary aquifer to be studied under the pro3 gram. 

4 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—A study plan developed 

5 under paragraph (1) shall, to the maximum extent 

6 practicable—

7 (A) integrate existing data collection and 

8 analyses conducted with respect to the priority 

9 transboundary aquifer; 

10 (B) if applicable, improve and strengthen 

11 existing groundwater flow models developed for 

12 the priority transboundary aquifer; and 

13 (C) be consistent with appropriate State 

14 guidelines and goals. 

15 SEC. 6. EFFECT. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act affects—

17 (1) the jurisdiction or responsibility of a Partici18 pating State with respect to managing surface or 

19 groundwater resources in the Participating State; 

20 (2) the water rights of any person or entity 

21 using water from a transboundary aquifer; or 

22 (3) State water law, or an interstate compact or 

23 international treaty governing water. 

24 (b) TREATY.—Nothing in this Act shall delay or alter 

25 the implementation or operation of any works constructed, 
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1 modified, acquired, or used within the territorial limits of 

2 the United States relating to the waters governed by the 

3 Treaty Between the United States and Mexico Regarding 

4 Utilization of Waters of the Colorado and Tijuana Rivers 

5 and of the Rio Grande, Treaty Series 994 (59 Stat. 1219). 

6 SEC. 7. REPORTS. 

7 Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of 

8 this Act, and on completion of the program in fiscal year 

9 2016, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate water 

10 resource agency in the Participating States, an interim and 

11 final report, respectively, that describes—

12 (1) any activities carried out under the program; 

13 (2) any conclusions of the Secretary relating to 

14 the status of priority transboundary aquifers; and 

15 (3) the level of participation in the program of 

16 entities in Mexico. 

17 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro19 priated to carry out this Act $50,000,000 for the period of 

20 fiscal years 2007 through 2016. 

21 (b) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—Of the amounts made 

22 available under subsection (a), 50 percent shall be made 

23 available to the water resources research institutes to pro24 vide funding to appropriate entities in the Participating 

25 States (including Sandia National Laboratories, State 
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1 agencies, universities, the Tri-Regional Planning Group, 

2 and other relevant organizations) and to implement cooper3 ative agreements entered into with appropriate entities in 

4 Mexico to conduct specific authorized activities in further5 ance of the program, including the binational collection and 

6 exchange of scientific data. 

7 (c) CRITERIA.—Funding provided to an appropriate 

8 entity in Mexico pursuant to subsection (b) shall be contin9 gent on that entity providing 50 percent of the necessary 

10 resources (including in-kind services) to further assist in 

11 carrying out the authorized activity. 

12 SEC. 9. SUNSET OF AUTHORITY. 

13 The authority of the Secretary to carry out any provi14 sions of this Act shall terminate 10 years after the date of 

15 enactment of this Act.

Attest:

Clerk. 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 214

AMENDMENT