I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4252 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study of water resources 

in the Rialto-Colton Basin in the State of California, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 9, 2009 

Mr. BACA (for himself and Mrs. NAPOLITANO) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study 

of water resources in the Rialto-Colton Basin in the 

State of California, 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 ‘‘Inland Empire Per5 chlorate Ground Water Plume Assessment Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. RIALTO-COLTON BASIN, CALIFORNIA, WATER RE7 SOURCES STUDY. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after funds 

9 are made available to carry out this Act, the Secretary 

10 of the Interior, acting through the Director of the United 

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1 States Geological Survey, shall complete a study of water 

2 resources in the Rialto-Colton Basin in the State of Cali3 fornia (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Basin’’), includ4 ing— 

5 (1) a survey of ground water resources in the 

6 Basin, including an analysis of— 

7 (A) the delineation, either horizontally or 

8 vertically, of the aquifers in the Basin, includ9 ing the quantity of water in the aquifers; 

10 (B) the availability of ground water re11 sources for human use; 

12 (C) the salinity of ground water resources; 

13 (D) the identification of a recent surge in 

14 perchlorate concentrations in ground water, 

15 whether significant sources are being flushed 

16 through the vadose zone, or if perchlorate is 

17 being remobilized; 

18 (E) the identification of impacts and 

19 extents of all source areas that contribute to 

20 the regional plume to be fully characterized; 

21 (F) the potential of the ground water re22 sources to recharge; 

23 (G) the interaction between ground water 

24 and surface water; 

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1 (H) the susceptibility of the aquifers to 

2 contamination, including identifying the extent 

3 of commingling of plume emanating within sur4 rounding areas in San Bernardino County, 

5 California; and 

6 (I) any other relevant criteria; and 

7 (2) a characterization of surface and bedrock 

8 geology of the Basin, including the effect of the geol9 ogy on ground water yield and quality. 

10 (b) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall carry out 

11 the study in coordination with the State of California and 

12 any other entities that the Secretary determines to be ap13 propriate, including other Federal agencies and institu14 tions of higher education. 

15 (c) REPORT.—Upon completion of the study, the Sec16 retary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Nat17 ural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Nat18 ural Resources of the House of Representatives a report 

19 that describes the results of the study. 

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