HR 5709119th CongressIn Committee

TAAP Act

Introduced: Oct 8, 2025

Sponsor: Rep. Ciscomani, Juan [R-AZ-6] (R-Arizona)

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

The TAAP Act would reauthorize and modify the United States-Mexico Transboundary Aquifer Assessment program. It expands the list of priority transboundary aquifers to include areas in New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona, with a specific exception for an Arizona-Sonora aquifer that lies partly within the Yuma groundwater basin as designated by a 1984 Arizona Department of Water Resources order. The bill also changes the funding terms, providing $1.5 million per fiscal year for 2026 through 2033, and updates the sunset provision to occur upon enactment of the Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program Act. Overall, the measure aims to continue and refine cross-border groundwater assessment and cooperation between the United States and Mexico.

Key Points

1Reauthorizes the United States-Mexico Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program (TAAP) and the broader transboundary aquifer assessment effort.
2Redesignates priority transboundary aquifers to include those in New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona, with an exception for a specific Arizona-Sonora aquifer within the Yuma basin as per a 1984 Arizona water-resources order.
3Sets the federal funding authorization at $1,500,000 for each fiscal year from 2026 through 2033.
4Revises the sunset trigger to occur upon enactment of the Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program Act (rather than the earlier enactment language).
5Maintains the program’s purpose of assessing shared groundwater resources to support cross-border water management and cooperation with Mexico.

Impact Areas

Primary affected groups/areas: U.S. states of New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona; border-area water managers and agencies; Mexican counterpart agencies in Sonora; federal agencies administering and funding water resources programs.Secondary affected groups/areas: local communities that rely on transboundary groundwater, farmers and agricultural users, Indigenous communities, environmental and scientific organizations involved in groundwater research.Additional impacts: improved data and coordination for cross-border groundwater planning; potential shifts in prioritization of aquifers affecting management decisions; reliance on established funding levels for multi-year planning and projects, with implications if appropriations change.

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