[Senate Report 110-112]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 253
110th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 110-112
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NEW MEXICO AQUIFER ASSESSMENT ACT OF 2007
_______
June 28, 2007.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 324]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 324) to direct the Secretary of the
Interior to conduct a study of water resources in the State of
New Mexico, having considered the same, reports favorably
thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE
The purpose of S. 324 is to direct the Secretary of the
Interior to conduct a study of water resources in the State of
New Mexico.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
Over the past several years, New Mexico has been in and out
of drought conditions, which has caused the water level in many
of its reservoirs to drop to dangerously low levels. In
addition, the groundwater wells of many municipalities in the
State have run dry. New Mexico is unique in its reliance on
groundwater. It has a history of irrigation from artesian wells
in the eastern part of the State. Moreover, approximately 90
percent of New Mexicans depend on groundwater for drinking
water purposes, 77 percent of which obtain their supply
exclusively from groundwater. While groundwater supplies
throughout the State are coming under increasing demand due to
drought, contamination, historical use, and increasing
population, not enough is known about these resources to make
sound decisions regarding their ongoing and future use. In
particular, there is a strong need to better understand aquifer
recharge rates, water quality, susceptibility to contamination,
and the interaction between surface water and groundwater
flows.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 324 was introduced on January 17, 2007 by Senator
Domenici for himself and Senator Bingaman, and referred to the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The Water and Power
Subcommittee held a hearing on S. 324 on April 25, 2007. At the
business meeting on May 23, 2007, the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources ordered S. 324 favorably reported.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an
open business meeting on May 23, 2007, by voice vote of a
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 324.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 provides the short title.
Section 2(a) directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting
through the Director of the United States Geological Survey in
coordination with the State of New Mexico and other appropriate
entities to conduct a study of water resources in the State,
including a survey of groundwater resources, and
characterization of aquifer geology.
Section 2(b) directs that the study shall include the
Estancia Basin, Salt Basin, Tularosa Basin, Hueco Basin, and
middle Rio Grande Basin in the State.
Section 2(c) requires that not later than 2 years after the
date of enactment, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee
on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee
on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a report
that describes the results of the study.
Section 2(d) authorizes the appropriation of necessary sums
to carry out the Act.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office.
June 6, 2007.
Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 324, the New Mexico
Aquifer Assessment Act of 2007.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact are Tyler
Kruzich and David Reynolds.
Sincerely,
Peter R. Orszag.
Enclosure.
S. 324--New Mexico Aquifer Assessment Act of 2007
Summary: S. 324 would require the United States Geological
Survey (USGS) to conduct a study of water resources in five New
Mexico ground water basins. Assuming appropriation of the
necessary funds, CBO estimates that conducting those studies
would cost $15 million over the 2008-2012 period. Enacting S.
324 would not affect direct spending or revenues.
The legislation contains no intergovernmental or private-
sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
(UMRA) and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal
governments.
Estimated cost to the federal government: The estimated
budgetary impact of S. 324 is shown in the following table. The
costs of this legislation would fall within budget function 300
(natural resources and environment).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Estimated Authorization Level... 6 6 3 0 0
Estimated Outlays............... 4 4 4 2 1
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that S.
324 will be enacted before the end of 2007 and that the
necessary amounts will be appropriated for each year. The bill
would require USGS to study water resources in five separate
New Mexico ground water basins. Based on information provided
by the USGS, CBO expects the studies would begin over the next
three years and be completed within five years. Using
information provided by the agency, CBO estimates that carrying
out the proposed studies would cost $15 million over the 2008-
2012 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts.
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 324
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined by UMRA and would impose no costs state, local, or
tribal governments.
Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Tyler Kruzich and
David Reynolds; Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments:
Lisa Ramirez-Branum; Impact on the Private Sector: Amy Petz.
Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION
In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in
carrying out S. 324. The bill is not a regulatory measure in
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or
significant responsibilities on private individuals and
business.
No personal information would be collected in administering
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal
privacy.
Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the
enactment of S. 324.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The testimony provided by the Department of the Interior at
the Subcommittee hearing on S. 324 follows:
Statement of Robert M. Hirsch, Associate Director for Water, United
States Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, I am Dr. Robert
M. Hirsch, Associate Director for Water for the U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS). I thank you for the opportunity to provide the
views of the Department of the Interior (Department) on S. 324,
the ``New Mexico Aquifer Assessment Act of 2007.''
The Department agrees that the goals of the bill are
commendable and the needs that could be addressed are real;
however, we have concerns with this bill, including the
availability of funding for the work proposed in the context of
overall funding for the Administration's priorities. To ensure
appropriate flexibility in budgetary management, the
Administration recommends that this bill be amended to
authorize rather than require the study within a statutorily
prescribed timeframe. We would like to work with the committee
to revise the bill to address these issues.
S. 324, THE ``NEW MEXICO AQUIFER ASSESSMENT ACT OF 2007''
S. 324 directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting
through the Director of the USGS, to conduct a study on ground-
water resources in the State of New Mexico. The role identified
for the Department in this bill is consistent with the
leadership role of USGS in monitoring and assessing ground-
water resources.
As the Nation's largest water, earth, and biological
science and civilian mapping agency, the USGS conducts the most
extensive ground-water and surface-water investigations in the
Nation in conjunction with State and local partners. The USGS
New Mexico Water Science Center currently operates 203
streamflow stations and routinely measures ground-water levels
at 2573 well sites through cooperative programs with several
Federal, State, Tribal, and local agencies. In addition to
hydrologic monitoring programs, the USGS is providing
hydrologic understanding to water agencies through the
Cooperative Water Program by conducting several investigative
projects that include describing the interaction of surface
water and ground water in the Mesilla, upper Rio Hondo, and
Middle Rio Grande Basins; planning geohydrologic studies in the
Salt Basin; and evaluating water quality of the Rio Grande and
Rio Chama. In support of all water agencies within New Mexico,
USGS technical specialists actively participate on work groups
and committees addressing critical New Mexico water issues.
Currently, personnel are involved in the Technical Subcommittee
of the Gila-San Francisco Coordinating Committee, the Espanola
Basin Technical Advisory Group, and the Upper Rio Grande Water
Operations Model Work Group.
The USGS has a long history of conducting ground-water
assessments on a regional scale. In the 1980s, 25 regional
aquifer systems were studied in detail as part of the Regional
Aquifer-System Analysis (RASA) Program, including the Southwest
Alluvial basins, High Plains aquifer, and San Juan Basin in New
Mexico. More recently, the Middle Rio Grande Basin was studied
extensively for 6 years as a partnership among Federal, State,
and local sources.
Congress directed the USGS in their fiscal year (FY) 2002
appropriation to ``prepare a report to describe the scope and
magnitude of the efforts needed to provide periodic assessments
of the status and trends in the availability and use of
freshwater resources.'' We are midway through a pilot project
in the Great Lakes region and a small effort in the Lower
Colorado River basin to develop approaches for national
assessment that began in FY 2005 as part of the USGS Ground-
Water Resources Program. The approaches developed to date could
be applied to New Mexico and nationwide. However, we note that
a comprehensive study of a major aquifer system commonly takes
4 or more years to complete; and thus, the 2-year time frame
for completing the overall study proposed by S. 324 would yield
limited results.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the USGS concurs with the goals of S. 324.
The proposed effort would help ensure long-term water supplies
for the citizens, businesses, industry, and natural features of
New Mexico, and the expertise of USGS is highly relevant to the
tasks contemplated by the legislation. However, we are
concerned with the funding requirements that accompany S. 324.
We note that there are no funds in this year's budget or the
President's FY 2008 budget to implement the legislation, and
any future funding requests would have to compete with other
priority projects for funds. We also note there are some
ongoing efforts to address the goals of the Act. Finally,
individual major aquifer studies commonly require 4 or more
years to complete, and thus, the 2-year time frame for
completing the overall study proposed by S. 324 would yield
limited results.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to present
this testimony. I will be pleased to respond to questions you
and other Members of the Committee may have.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no
changes in existing law are made by the bill S. 324, as ordered
reported.