I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3481 
To provide for the protection of the quality of water in the Lower Colorado 
River and the development and implementation of a comprehensive plan 
for the prevention and elimination of pollution in the Lower Colorado 
River and the maintenance of a healthy Lower Colorado River ecosystem. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 31, 2009 
Mr. GRIJALVA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Com-
mittee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined 
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To provide for the protection of the quality of water in 
the Lower Colorado River and the development and im-
plementation of a comprehensive plan for the prevention 
and elimination of pollution in the Lower Colorado River 
and the maintenance of a healthy Lower Colorado River 
ecosystem. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lower Colorado River 
Protection Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
The table of contents of this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title. 
Sec. 2. Table of contents. 
Sec. 3. Findings. 
Sec. 4. Declaration of goals. 
Sec. 5. Definitions. 
TITLE I—PLAN DEVELOPMENT 
Sec. 101. Lower Colorado River Management Conference. 
Sec. 102. Lower Colorado River protection program. 
Sec. 103. Environmental and pollution control research program. 
Sec. 104. Lower Colorado River pollution elimination and ecosystem restoration 
plan. 
Sec. 105. Report on the plan to Congress. 
TITLE II—PLAN IMPLEMENTATION 
Sec. 201. Management. 
Sec. 202. Qualified projects. 
Sec. 203. Encouraging involvement of other programs. 
Sec. 204. Public information program. 
Sec. 205. Report. 
Sec. 206. Compliance with State and Federal law. 
SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) Safe supplies of water are fundamental to 
the health, economy, security, and ecology of the 
United States. 
(2) Research, development, and implementation 
of means and methods to protect the quality of the 
water resources of the United States will help ensure 
the continued existence of safe water to support— 
(A) increasing populations; 
(B) economic growth; 
(C) irrigated agriculture and a safe food 
supply; and 
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(D) the protection of aquatic ecosystems. 
(3) The Colorado River is a multifaceted re-
source of the United States because— 
(A) the Colorado River is a natural won-
der, a national treasure, and the lifeblood of the 
Southwest as it provides drinking water for 
more than 25,000,000 people and irrigates 
1,800,000 acres of land, watering 15 percent of 
United States crops and over 80 percent of win-
ter vegetables consumed in the United States; 
(B) the Colorado River is a major water 
recreation destination for boaters, fishermen, 
skiers, swimmers, hikers, and others with the 
Grand 
Canyon 
receiving 
approximately 
4,500,000 visitors per year, the Glen Canyon 
National Recreation Area receiving approxi-
mately 2,000,000 visitors per year, and Lake 
Mead National Recreation Area receiving ap-
proximately 8,000,000 visitors per year; and 
(C) the Colorado River and its tributaries 
form a unique habitat that supports many rare 
and unusual species, including 36 native fish 
species (not including 2 that have already gone 
extinct), of which 25 species are found only in 
the Colorado River and its tributaries, 11 spe-
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cies are classified as endangered, 4 species are 
classified as threatened, and 5 species are clas-
sified as sensitive. 
(4) The Colorado River is endangered be-
cause— 
(A) the habitat along the Colorado River 
has been altered by dams, diversions, habitat 
loss and degradation, chemical pollution, and 
nonnative plant and animal species (including 
62 nonnative species of fish), such that it is no 
longer the warm, silt-laden, sometimes turbu-
lent, and ecologically balanced home to which 
native species are adapted, which has reduced 
the populations and ranges of many native spe-
cies; 
(B) male fish in Las Vegas Bay of Lake 
Mead have relatively high levels of endocrine 
disrupting compounds (EDCs), low levels of sex 
hormones, and shrunken testes associated with 
exposure to EDCs in effluent discharged into 
Las Vegas Wash and making its way into the 
lake, and this effluent will soon be directly dis-
charged into Lake Mead instead of Las Vegas 
Wash; 
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(C) the dangers of increasing levels of 
EDCs are exemplified by the condition of the 
San Francisco Bay Estuary, the source of 
drinking water for 25,000,000 Californians, 
where fish populations are crashing and young 
fish are born with brain, liver, and other de-
formities associated with high levels of environ-
mental exposure to EDCs, which are making 
their way into people as evidenced by levels of 
the fire retardant polybrominated diphenyl 
ether reaching up to 100 times normal con-
centrations in the breast milk of Bay Area 
women; 
(D) nitrate pollution from degrading septic 
tanks presents a current and continuing threat 
to the health of the Lower Colorado River and 
the ecosystems and the health of the people 
that depend on it; 
(E) nitrate pollution also threatens the 
beneficial use of recreation along the Lower 
Colorado River because excess nitrates cause 
algal 
blooms, 
which 
die 
and 
decompose, 
deoxygenating the water and killing large num-
bers of fish; 
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(F) run-off and return flows from agricul-
tural lands into the Lower Colorado River and 
adjacent aquifers and waterways are rich in ni-
trates and sediment and high in salinity; 
(G) a number of chemicals in addition to 
nitrates are current or emerging threats to the 
Lower Colorado River, including uranium and 
other uranium mining by-products, selenium, 
hexavalent chromium, perchlorate, mercury, 
EDCs, pharmaceuticals, and personal care 
products; 
(H) 
known 
chemical 
and 
radioactive 
threats to the river include a 100-foot high, 130 
acre, 10.5 million ton pile of uranium mill 
tailings located 750 feet from the river near 
Moab, Utah, and being remediated by the De-
partment of Energy; 
(I) thousands of new mining claims, mostly 
for uranium, on Federal lands adjacent to the 
Grand Canyon are an emerging threat to the 
Colorado River; 
(J) known chemical threats to the river in-
clude 2 plumes of perchlorate rocket fuel near 
Henderson, Nevada, now being voluntarily re-
mediated by the land owners, but previously 
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making its way into lettuce grown over 200 
miles away near Yuma, Arizona; 
(K) known chemical threats to the river in-
clude 2 plumes of hexavalent chromium near 
Topock, California, and Lake Havasu City, Ari-
zona, being voluntarily remediated by the land 
owners; 
(L) quagga mussels, tamarisk, and other 
invasive species are disrupting ecosystems and 
threatening infrastructure and water quality in 
the Lower Colorado River; and 
(M) other types of contaminants and 
sources of pollution are a present danger to the 
Lower Colorado River, including pathogens, 
stormwater run-off, and salinity. 
(5) Demands on and needs of the Colorado 
River that are increasing stresses on the ecosystems 
and water resources of the Lower Colorado River are 
increasing because— 
(A) the population of California is pro-
jected to increase from 39,000,000 in 2010 to 
almost 60,000,000 in 2050, and the population 
of Arizona is projected to increase from 
7,000,000 in 2010 to almost 13,000,000 in 
2050; 
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(B) population along the Lower Colorado 
River is expected to grow from its current 
290,000 to 480,000 by 2025; 
(C) more than $2 billion is needed by 2025 
to build the wastewater treatment plants nec-
essary to ameliorate the danger to the Lower 
Colorado River from septic tanks; and 
(D) according to the most recent Intergov-
ernmental Panel on Climate Change report, the 
average annual temperature will increase by 
over 6 degrees Fahrenheit and annual run-off 
will decrease by 20 percent or more over much 
of the Lower Colorado River Basin by the end 
of the century. 
SEC. 4. DECLARATION OF GOALS. 
The goals of this Act are as follows: 
(1) To restore and maintain the ecosystems and 
the chemical, biological, and physical integrity of the 
waters of the Lower Colorado River to attain water 
quality that— 
(A) provides for the protection and propa-
gation of plants, fish, shellfish, wildlife, and a 
balanced population of natural, safe microorga-
nisms; 
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(B) provides for recreation in and on the 
water; and 
(C) protects the health of the millions of 
citizens of the United States who drink the 
water of the Lower Colorado River and eat the 
produce grown with water withdrawn from the 
Lower Colorado River. 
(2) To reduce the discharge of toxic pollutants 
into the Lower Colorado River to below toxic 
amounts and to remediate existing sources of toxic 
pollutants. 
(3) To develop and implement programs in an 
expeditious manner for the control of nonpoint 
sources of pollution to enable the goals of this Act 
to be met through the control of both point and 
nonpoint sources of pollution. 
(4) To complete research and development 
based on science and engineering to enable the goals 
of this Act to be met. 
(5) To empower the Environmental Protection 
Agency to take the lead in the effort to meet these 
goals, working with other Federal agencies and 
State and local authorities. 
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SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 
For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions 
apply: 
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency. 
(2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Agency’’ means the 
Environmental Protection Agency. 
(3) CRRSCO.—The term ‘‘CRRSCo’’ means 
the Colorado River Regional Sewer Coalition, an Ari-
zona nonprofit corporation whose members are cit-
ies, towns, counties, Indian tribes, and political sub-
divisions in the Lower Colorado River Basin which 
have the financial and management responsibilities 
for the provision of wastewater services within their 
jurisdictions. 
(4) FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The term ‘‘Federal 
agencies’’ includes the Environmental Protection 
Agency, the Department of the Interior (including 
the Bureau of Reclamation, the United States Fish 
and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Manage-
ment, the National Park Service, and the United 
States Geological Survey), the Army Corps of Engi-
neers, the Department of Commerce (including the 
National Marine Fisheries Service), the Department 
of Agriculture (including the Natural Resources 
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Conservation Service and the Forest Service), and 
the Western Area Power Administration. 
(5) 
FEDERALLY
RECOGNIZED
INDIAN 
TRIBES.—The term ‘‘federally recognized Indian 
tribes’’ means— 
(A) the Colorado River Indian Tribes of 
the Colorado River Indian Reservation, Arizona 
and California; 
(B) the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe of the 
Chemehuevi Reservation, California; 
(C) the Fort Mohave Indian Tribe of Ari-
zona, California, and Nevada; 
(D) the Quechan Tribe of the Fort Yuma 
Indian Reservation; and 
(E) the Cocopah Tribe of Arizona. 
(6) LOWER
COLORADO
RIVER.—The term 
‘‘Lower Colorado River’’ means that portion of the 
Colorado River downstream from Lees Ferry, as de-
fined in the Colorado River Compact of 1922, and 
within the United States. 
(7) LOWER
COLORADO
RIVER
BASIN.—The 
term ‘‘Lower Colorado River Basin’’ means the geo-
graphic areas in the States of Arizona, California, 
and Nevada that are hydrologically connected to the 
mainstem of the Lower Colorado River. 
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(8) MANAGEMENT
CONFERENCE.—The term 
‘‘Management Conference’’ means the Lower Colo-
rado River Management Conference established in 
section 101. 
(9) PLAN.—The term ‘‘Plan’’ means the Lower 
Colorado River Pollution Elimination and Ecosystem 
Restoration Plan described in section 104; 
(10) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 
the Lower Colorado River Protection Program estab-
lished in section 102. 
(11) QUALIFIED PROJECT.—The term ‘‘quali-
fied project’’ means a project to be carried out in 
the Lower Colorado River Basin that— 
(A) monitors or evaluates the release or 
discharge of pollutants in the Lower Colorado 
River Basin; or 
(B) prevents, reduces, or eliminates pollu-
tion in the Lower Colorado River or restores or 
maintains the ecosystem health of the Lower 
Colorado River in accordance with the Plan; 
and 
(C) does not include the purchase of water 
for the purpose of flow regulation in the Lower 
Colorado River or its tributaries. 
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TITLE I—PLAN DEVELOPMENT 
SEC. 101. LOWER COLORADO RIVER MANAGEMENT CON-
FERENCE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Lower 
Colorado River Management Conference to develop the 
Lower Colorado River Pollution Elimination and Eco-
system Restoration Plan. 
(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of the Manage-
ment Conference shall be comprised of the following: 
(1) The Governors of the States of California, 
Arizona, and Nevada or their designees. 
(2) 1 representative from each of the following 
Federal agencies: 
(A) The Agency. 
(B) The Bureau of Reclamation. 
(C) The Western Area Power Administra-
tion. 
(D) The National Park Service. 
(E) The United States Fish and Wildlife 
Service. 
(F) The United States Geological Survey. 
(3) The chairperson of CRRSCo. 
(4) 5 members of the board of directors of 
CRRSCo that represent local governments, federally 
recognized Indian tribes, and sewer districts within 
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the Lower Colorado River Basin, chosen by the 
board of directors of the CRRSCo. 
(5) 1 person representing any federally recog-
nized Indian tribe that is not represented on the 
board of directors of CRRSCo. 
(6) Not more than a total of 18 representatives 
appointed by the Governors of the States of Cali-
fornia, Arizona, and Nevada, comprised of the fol-
lowing: 
(A) 1 person representing each of the 
State environmental protection agencies of Ari-
zona, California, and Nevada, for a total of 3 
representatives. 
(B) 1 person representing each of the 
State water resources agencies of Arizona, Cali-
fornia, and Nevada, for a total of 3 representa-
tives. 
(C) Not more than 6 representatives of 
local governments having jurisdiction over any 
land or water within the Lower Colorado River 
Basin and that are not represented on the 
board of directors of CRRSCo. 
(D) 2 persons representing affected indus-
tries. 
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(E) 2 persons representing nongovern-
mental organizations. 
(F) 2 persons representing the general 
public. 
(7) 1 person representing the Colorado River 
Energy Distributors Association. 
(8) 1 person representing the Colorado River 
Commission of Nevada. 
(9) 1 person representing the Colorado River 
Water Users Association. 
(c) TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—Not later 
than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Management Conference shall appoint a Technical Ad-
visory Committee consisting of officials of Federal agen-
cies, the State governments of Arizona, California, and 
Nevada, the governments of political subdivisions of such 
States, and private research institutions to ensure the 
input of the technical expertise of those agencies and au-
thorities in developing and implementing the Plan. 
SEC. 102. LOWER COLORADO RIVER PROTECTION PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Lower Colorado River 
Protection Program is hereby established within the Agen-
cy Region 9 office. 
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