I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4144 
To require the Director of the United States Geological Survey to map 
future groundwater rise and conduct a study on its potential impacts 
to infrastructure and public health, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 25, 2025 
Mr. MULLIN (for himself and Mr. GARBARINO) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To require the Director of the United States Geological Sur-
vey to map future groundwater rise and conduct a study 
on its potential impacts to infrastructure and public 
health, and for other purposes. 
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 Groundwater Rise and 
Infrastructure Preparedness Act of 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Sea level has risen 5 to 6 inches over the 
last 30 years along the United States Coastline and 
is expected to rise by an additional 8 to 15 inches 
by 2050. 
(2) The response of shallow, coastal ground-
water levels to sea level rise will vary across different 
areas, complicating efforts by State, local, and Trib-
al policymakers to plan for the future. 
(3) Groundwater rise presents multiple threats 
to infrastructure and human health, such as in-
creased flooding and soil liquefaction risk, desta-
bilization of underground infrastructure and building 
foundations, contamination of drinking water, dam-
age to sewage systems, and mobilization of under-
ground contamination, but there has not been a na-
tional assessment of these potential impacts. 
SEC. 3. GROUNDWATER RISE. 
(a) NATIONAL GROUNDWATER RISE FORECAST.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Di-
rector shall establish a program to carry out the fol-
lowing: 
(A) Develop maps of groundwater rise for 
all coastal areas in the continental United 
States, building upon existing and prior coastal 
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groundwater mapping efforts, that depict future 
groundwater rise with decadal projections 
through 2100, and associated changes in flood-
ing risk and saltwater intrusion. 
(B) Identify priority areas that are at in-
creased risk of flooding due to groundwater 
rise. 
(C) Make recommendations to Congress 
regarding the resources and improved research 
infrastructure that may be needed to develop 
the following: 
(i) More accurate projections of aver-
age future groundwater rise and saltwater 
intrusion due to sea level change. 
(ii) Extreme event projections that ac-
count for tides, seasonal rainfall, and 
storms. 
(2) WEBSITE.—The Director shall establish a 
public website that displays the maps developed pur-
suant to paragraph (1), as well as other relevant in-
formation critical for use by community planners 
and emergency managers. 
(3) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Direc-
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tor $5,000,000 for fiscal years 2025 and 2026 to 
carry out this subsection. 
(b) GROUNDWATER RISE IMPACT STUDY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than six months 
after the completion of the activities under sub-
section (a), the Director, in consultation with the 
Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration, the Administrator of the En-
vironmental Protection Agency, the Director of the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology, and 
heads of other Federal agencies with relevant exper-
tise, shall seek to enter into an agreement with the 
National Academies to conduct a two-phase study on 
the potential impacts of groundwater rise on infra-
structure and public health. 
(2) ELEMENTS.—The study under subsection 
(a) should, at a minimum— 
(A) consider the results of the groundwater 
rise forecast developed in accordance with sub-
section (a); and 
(B) provide recommendations for actions 
by the executive branch and Congress to miti-
gate the potential impacts of groundwater rise. 
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(3) PHASE I STUDY ON IMPACTS TO INFRA-
STRUCTURE.—The phase I study under paragraph 
(1) should, at a minimum, consider the following: 
(A) The potential exposure of infrastruc-
ture in shallow coastal areas to groundwater 
rise, including roads, buildings, underground 
utility lines, parking structures, sewers, water 
distribution pipes, and storm drains, and the 
costs associated with such. 
(B) Changes in soil liquefaction risk dur-
ing earthquakes due to projected groundwater 
rise. 
(4) PHASE II STUDY ON IMPACTS TO PUBLIC 
HEALTH.—The phase II study under paragraph (1) 
should, at a minimum, consider the following: 
(A) The potential of groundwater rise to 
mobilize below-ground contamination and the 
associated risks to human health. 
(B) An evaluation of drinking water sup-
plies and agricultural areas that will be threat-
ened by groundwater rise and associated salt-
water intrusion. 
(5) REPORT.—Not later than three years after 
initiating the study under paragraph (1), the Direc-
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tor shall submit to Congress a report summarizing 
the findings of such study. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 
the Director of the United States Geological Survey. 
(2) GROUNDWATER RISE.—The term ‘‘ground-
water rise’’ means the upward movement of the shal-
low, coastal water table due to short or long-term 
fluctuations in sea level. 
(3) NATIONAL
ACADEMIES.—The term ‘‘Na-
tional Academies’’ means the National Academies of 
Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 
Æ 
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