Posted: Thursday, May 08, 2008 at 5:51 p.m.

WASHINGTON, DC (AP) -- President Bush has signed into law a measure that will explore putting groundwater pumped out during oil and gas production to use.

The bipartisan bill directs the Interior Department to assess the feasibility of recovering and cleaning up the millions of gallons of water that are reinjected into the ground or disposed of during oil and gas development.

The bill authorizes federal grants for pilot projects to test technology that could make the water usable for irrigation and other uses.

Democratic Sens. Ken Salazar of Colorado and Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico and Republican Sens. Pete Domenici of New Mexico and Mike Enzi of Wyoming sponsored the bill. Democratic Rep. Mark Udall of Colorado sponsored the bill in the House last year.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)