PUBLIC LAW 109–448—DEC. 22, 2006
120 STAT. 3329
tribe, the exterior boundaries of which are more particularly defined in a final tribal treaty, agreement, executive order, Federal statute, secretarial order, or judicial determination. (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the United States Geological Survey. (9) TRANSBOUNDARY AQUIFER.—The term ‘‘transboundary aquifer’’ means an aquifer that underlies the boundary between a Participating State and Mexico. (10) TRI-REGIONAL PLANNING GROUP.—The term ‘‘TriRegional Planning Group’’ means the binational planning group comprised of— (A) the Junta Municipal de Agua y Saneamiento de Ciudad Juarez; (B) the El Paso Water Utilities Public Service Board; and (C) the Lower Rio Grande Water Users Organization. (11) WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH INSTITUTES.—The term ‘‘water resources research institutes’’ means the institutes within the Participating States established under section 104 of the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10303). SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation and cooperation with the Participating States, the water resources research institutes, Sandia National Laboratories, and other appropriate entities in the United States and Mexico, and the IBWC, as appropriate, shall carry out the United States-Mexico transboundary aquifer assessment program to characterize, map, and model priority transboundary aquifers along the United States-Mexico border at a level of detail determined to be appropriate for the particular aquifer. (b) OBJECTIVES.—The objectives of the program are to— (1) develop and implement an integrated scientific approach to identify and assess priority transboundary aquifers, including— (A) for purposes of subsection (c)(2), specifying priority transboundary aquifers for further analysis by assessing— (i) the proximity of a proposed priority transboundary aquifer to areas of high population density; (ii) the extent to which a proposed priority transboundary aquifer would be used; (iii) the susceptibility of a proposed priority transboundary aquifer to contamination; and (iv) any other relevant criteria; (B) evaluating all available data and publications as part of the development of study plans for each priority transboundary aquifer; (C) creating a new, or enhancing an existing, geographic information system database to characterize the spatial and temporal aspects of each priority transboundary aquifer; and (D) using field studies, including support for and expansion of ongoing monitoring and metering efforts, to develop—
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42 USC 1962 note.
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