II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 214 

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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 31, 2005 

Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself, Mr. DOMENICI, and Mr. KYL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL

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.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Act’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

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

3 the Interior to establish a United States-Mexico 

4 transboundary aquifer assessment program to— 

5 (1) systematically assess priority transboundary 

6 aquifers; and 

7 (2) provide the scientific foundation necessary 

8 for State and local officials to address pressing 

9 water resource challenges in the United States-Mex10 ico border region. 

11 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act: 

13 (1) AQUIFER.—The term ‘‘aquifer’’ means a 

14 subsurface water-bearing geologic formation from 

15 which significant quantities of water may be ex16 tracted. 

17 (2) BORDER STATE.—The term ‘‘Border State’’ 

18 means each of the States of Arizona, California, 

19 New Mexico, and Texas. 

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

21 means an Indian tribe, band, nation, or other orga22 nized group or community— 

23 (A) that is recognized as eligible for the 

24 special programs and services provided by the 

25 United States to Indians because of their status 

26 as Indians; and 
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1 (B) the reservation of which includes a 

2 transboundary aquifer within the exterior 

3 boundaries of the reservation. 

4 (4) PRIORITY TRANSBOUNDARY AQUIFER.—The 

5 term ‘‘priority transboundary aquifer’’ means a 

6 transboundary aquifer that has been designated for 

7 study and analysis under the program. 

8 (5) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

9 the United States-Mexico transboundary aquifer as10 sessment program established under section 4(a). 

11 (6) RESERVATION.—The term ‘‘reservation’’ 

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

13 acknowledged as having been set aside by the United 

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

15 boundaries of which are more particularly defined in 

16 a final tribal treaty, agreement, executive order, 

17 Federal statute, secretarial order, or judicial deter18 mination. 

19 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

20 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di21 rector of the United States Geological Survey. 

22 (8) TRANSBOUNDARY AQUIFER.—The term 

23 ‘‘transboundary aquifer’’ means an aquifer that 

24 underlies the boundary between the United States 

25 and Mexico. 
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1 (9) TRI-REGIONAL PLANNING GROUP.—The 

2 term ‘‘Tri-Regional Planning Group’’ means the bi3 national planning group comprised of— 

4 (A) the Junta Municipal de Agua y 

5 Saneamiento de Ciudad Juarez; 

6 (B) the El Paso Water Utilities Public 

7 Service Board; and 

8 (C) the Lower Rio Grande Water Users 

9 Organization. 

10 (10) WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH INSTI11 TUTES.—The term ‘‘water resources research insti12 tutes’’ means the institutes within the Border States 

13 established under section 104 of the Water Re14 sources Research Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10303). 

15 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. 

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

17 and cooperation with the Border States, the water re18 sources research institutes, Sandia National Laboratories, 

19 and other appropriate entities in the United States and 

20 Mexico, shall carry out the United States-Mexico 

21 transboundary aquifer assessment program to charac22 terize, map, and model transboundary groundwater re23 sources along the United States-Mexico border at a level 

24 of detail determined to be appropriate for the particular 

25 aquifer. 
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1 (b) OBJECTIVES.—The objectives of the program are 

2 to— 

3 (1) develop and implement an integrated sci4 entific approach to assess transboundary ground5 water resources, including— 

6 (A)(i) identifying fresh and saline 

7 transboundary aquifers; and 

8 (ii) prioritizing the transboundary aquifers 

9 for further analysis by assessing— 

10 (I) the proximity of the transboundary 

11 aquifer to areas of high population density; 

12 (II) the extent to which the 

13 transboundary aquifer is used; 

14 (III) the susceptibility of the 

15 transboundary aquifer to contamination; 

16 and 

17 (IV) any other relevant criteria; 

18 (B) evaluating all available data and publi19 cations as part of the development of study 

20 plans for each priority transboundary aquifer; 

21 (C) creating a new, or enhancing an exist22 ing, geographic information system database to 

23 characterize the spatial and temporal aspects of 

24 each priority transboundary aquifer; and 
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1 (D) using field studies, including support 

2 for and expansion of ongoing monitoring and 

3 metering efforts, to develop— 

4 (i) the additional data necessary to 

5 adequately define aquifer characteristics; 

6 and 

7 (ii) scientifically sound groundwater 

8 flow models to assist with State and local 

9 water management and administration, in10 cluding modeling of relevant groundwater 

11 and surface water interactions; 

12 (2) expand existing agreements, as appropriate, 

13 between the United States Geological Survey, the 

14 Border States, the water resources research insti15 tutes, and appropriate authorities in the United 

16 States and Mexico, to— 

17 (A) conduct joint scientific investigations; 

18 (B) archive and share relevant data; and 

19 (C) carry out any other activities con20 sistent with the program; and 

21 (3) produce scientific products for each priority 

22 transboundary aquifer that— 

23 (A) are capable of being broadly distrib24 uted; and 
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1 (B) provide the scientific information need2 ed by water managers and natural resource 

3 agencies on both sides of the United States4 Mexico border to effectively accomplish the mis5 sions of the managers and agencies. 

6 (c) DESIGNATION OF PRIORITY TRANSBOUNDARY

7 AQUIFERS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of the pro9 gram, the Secretary shall designate as priority 

10 transboundary aquifers— 

11 (A) the Hueco Bolson and Mesilla aquifers 

12 underlying parts of Texas, New Mexico, and 

13 Mexico; and 

14 (B) the Santa Cruz River Valley aquifers 

15 underlying Arizona and Sonora, Mexico. 

16 (2) ADDITIONAL AQUIFERS.—The Secretary 

17 shall, using the criteria under subsection 

18 (b)(1)(A)(ii), evaluate and designate additional pri19 ority transboundary aquifers. 

20 (d) COOPERATION WITH MEXICO.—To ensure a com21 prehensive assessment of transboundary aquifers, the Sec22 retary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, work with 

23 appropriate Federal agencies and other organizations to 

24 develop partnerships with, and receive input from, relevant 

25 organizations in Mexico to carry out the program. 
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1 (e) GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The 

2 Secretary may provide grants or enter into cooperative 

3 agreements and other agreements with the water re4 sources research institutes and other Border State entities 

5 to carry out the program. 

6 SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAM. 

7 (a) COORDINATION WITH STATES, TRIBES, AND

8 OTHER ENTITIES.—The Secretary shall coordinate the ac9 tivities carried out under the program with— 

10 (1) the appropriate water resource agencies in 

11 the Border States; 

12 (2) any affected Indian tribes; and 

13 (3) any other appropriate entities that are con14 ducting monitoring and metering activity with re15 spect to a priority transboundary aquifer. 

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

17 this Act, the Secretary shall not initiate any new field 

18 studies or analyses under the program before consulting 

19 with, and coordinating the activity with, any Border State 

20 water resource agencies that have jurisdiction over the aq21 uifer. 

22 (c) STUDY PLANS; COST ESTIMATES.— 

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

24 closely with appropriate Border State water resource 

25 agencies, water resources research institutes, and 
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1 other relevant entities to develop a study plan, 

2 timeline, and cost estimate for each priority 

3 transboundary aquifer to be studied under the pro4 gram. 

5 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—A study plan developed 

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

7 practicable— 

8 (A) integrate existing data collection and 

9 analyses conducted with respect to the priority 

10 transboundary aquifer; 

11 (B) if applicable, improve and strengthen 

12 existing groundwater flow models developed for 

13 the priority transboundary aquifer; and 

14 (C) be consistent with appropriate State 

15 guidelines and goals. 

16 SEC. 6. EFFECT. 

17 Nothing in this Act affects— 

18 (1) the jurisdiction or responsibility of a Border 

19 State with respect to managing surface or ground20 water resources in the Border State; or 

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

22 using water from a transboundary aquifer. 

23 SEC. 7. REPORTS. 

24 Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment 

25 of this Act, and on completion of the program in fiscal 
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1 year 2014, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate 

2 water resource agency in the Border States, an interim 

3 and final report, respectively, that describes— 

4 (1) any activities carried out under the pro5 gram; 

6 (2) any conclusions of the Secretary relating to 

7 the status of transboundary aquifers; and 

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

9 entities in Mexico. 

10 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro12 priated to carry out this Act $50,000,000 for the period 

13 of fiscal years 2006 through 2015. 

14 (b) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—Of the amounts 

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

16 made available to the water resources research institutes 

17 to provide funding to appropriate entities in the Border 

18 States (including Sandia National Laboratories, State 

19 agencies, universities, the Tri-Regional Planning Group, 

20 and other relevant organizations) and Mexico to conduct 

21 activities under the program, including the binational col22 lection and exchange of scientific data.

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