Science, and transportation united states senate

Schock. 1977.)

373

States for the 1975 and 1976 seasons, respectively, as shown in the

maps in figures 5 and 6. Reference numbers where footnoted in the first

column of the tables correspond to North Dakota projects. Other col-

umns identify operators, sponsors, operational periods, seeding agents,

delivery modes, whether or not the project incorporated randomized

seeding, and the objectives. Xote that none of the operational projects

included random seeding.

Figure 7 shows the number of years from 1951 through 1976 that

counties in the three-State area were totally or partially included

in target areas of weather modification projects, according to an inten-

sive study of projects in the area over this timespan by Schock. 19

Statistics on these projects are given in table 18.

19 Ibid., pp. 15-15.

374

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376

partially or totally included in weather modification target areas during the

years 1951 through 1976. The numbers indicate the number of seasons during

that time period that a given county included target areas for weather modifi-

cation projects. (From Schock, 1977.)

Table 18. — Statistics on operational and research weather modification projects

conducted in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota during the period

1951 through 1976.

Number of projects 63

Number of seasons projects conducted 162

Number of research projects 14

Number of seasons research projects conducted 27

Number of research projects financed totally with Federal dollars 9

Number of applied projects for which Federal dollars supported an evalua-

tion 2

Maximum number of counties in applied projects during a single year

Source : Schock, 1977.

SOUTH DAKOTA

In the late 1940's and early 1950's there was a proliferation of

weather modification projects throughout the Great Plains, and as

much as 50 percent of the State of South Dakota is estimated to have

been under cloud seeding during the peak years. Financed through

voluntary contributions mostly from farmers and ranchers, the tech-

niques most often employed ground-based silver iodide generators.

The first weather modification legislation in South Dakota, enacted in

1953, established the South Dakota Weather Control Commission and

instructed the commission to promote and regulate cloud-seeding

activit ies.-°

20 Donnan, John A.. Jackson L. Pellett, Richard S. Leblang, and Loo F. Hitter, "The Rise

and Fall of the South Dakota Weather Modification Program," the Journal of Weather

Modification, vol. 8, No. 1, April 197G, pp. 1-2.

377

There was no Government support of weather modification until

1955 the legislature amended the State law, authorizing each county

to levy up to 1 mill on assessed valuation to support weather modifi-

cation. Counties took advantage of this new authority and some joined

together so that cooperative projects could be conducted in blocks of

contiguous counties. In 1959 the State Board of Regents established the

Institute of Atmospheric Sciences at South Dakota School of Mines

and Technology, and the first Federal funds for weather modification

were made available to the institute in 1961. Through 1970 at least

$3,800,000 in Federal funds had been invested in the State to study

summertime cumulus clouds and thunderstorms and to develop

weather modification techniques, mostly from the Bureau of Reclama-

tion, but also from the Defense and Commerce Departments and from

the National Science Foundation. 21

The "Weather Control Commission instructed the Institute of Atmos-

pheric Sciences to develop an operational weather modification plan

for the State in 1969, and in February 1970 individuals representing

various sections of the State's economy were invited to review and

give direction to such a possible operational program. To coordinate

development efforts the South Dakota Water Development Associa-

tion was established from those assembled. In April of that year the

executive committee of the Legislative Research Council included

this program among its studies of the year and in June and September

the Agriculture and Conservation Committee of the Legislative Re-

search Council heard testimony in support of a statewide weather

modification program. In October the committee approved an amend-

ment to the existing weather modification law, directing the Weather

Control Commission to carry out a statewide program of precipitation

management and appropriating $100,000 in State funds to develop

the program. The bill was subsequently approved, March 17, 1971, by

a two-thirds majority of both legislative houses, as required for all

special appropriations bills. 22

The Commission was attached to the State Department of Agricul-

ture for administrative purposes, but was given full authority to direct

the design and development of the program. In April 1971 the com-

mission selected a director, who assumed his position in September and

immediately began planning the statewide program for the summer of

1972. To emphasize and obtain local support, contact was made with

and support sought from agricultural organizations, water groups, and

the South Dakota County Commissioners Association. Counties were

asked to participate in the program, and it was proposed that one

commissioner from each participating county serve on a Weather Modi-

fication Advisory Committee, each with complete control over cloud

seeding activities in his county. The Weather Control Commission

established a cost share ratio of 25 percent for the county versus 75

percent for the State. Of the State's 67 counties, 26 agreed to partici-

pate during the 1972 summer season and entered into contract with

the Commission. As shown in figure 8, 21 of these counties constituted

a nearly solid block in the southeast part of the State, 3 were in a

block in the Black Hills, and 2 other large counties were in the ex-

21 Ibid., pp. 2-3.

22 Ibid., pp. 3-4.

378

treme northwest corner of the State, constituting a combined land area

In 1972 the legislature passed another special appropriation meas-

ure, requiring two-thirds support in both houses, which provided

$250,000 to support the 1972 operational program and administrative

functions of the Commission for fiscal year 1973. About $90,000 was

received in cost-share .funds from participating counties. In view of

insufficient funds, full-scale operations were conducted only in the

southeast part of the State, and supplemental support was provided

elsewhere ; 1972 field operations, costing about 3.2 cents per acre, were

performed under contract to the State by private firms. 24

▲

± Aircraft

State Weather Control Commission in the first year of the statewide weather

modification program during the 1972 operating season. (From Donnan, Pellett,

Leblang, and Ritter, 1976.)

23 Ibid., pp. 4-6.

24 Ibid., pp. 6-8.

379

Figure 9. — Forty-six counties in South Dakota which contracted with the State

modification program during the 1974 operating season. (From Donnan, Pellett,

Leblang, and Hitter, 1976.)

The special State appropriation for 1973 approved by the legislature

was $643,818, supplemented by $190,141 in county funds and $7,000

from the Federal Government. The law was also amended that year to

make changes in the administrative structure and in regulations. The

Weather Control Commission became the Weather Modification Com-

mission with modified membership provisions, the Commission and all

of its functions were transferred to the Department of Natural Ke-

sources, and license and permit requirements and violation penalties

were instituted. 25 The 1973 summer operating season began May 1, with

42 participating counties, divided into 6 operational districts. 26

Plans for the 1974 season included the intent for 46 counties to par-

ticipate, constituting 29,547,000 acres. In the fall of 1973 the Governor

considered the program so well established that he included its f unding

in his general appropriations bill, requiring only a simple majority vote

for passage. The $803,700 included was to fund operations for July

and August 1974 and May and June 1975. A special appropriation bill

was also introduced to provide $171,000 for contracted services in May

and June 1974. Both bills passed the legislature, and $243,600 in county

moneys and $30,200 in Federal funds were also available. The latter

funds were received from the Bureau of Reclamation and were to be

used for evaluation of operations. The overall cost of the 1974 seeding

program was 3.6 cents per acre. 27 Counties participating in this peak

year for the statewide program are shown on the map in figure 9.

25 The present South Dakota statutes relating to weather modification are reproduced in

app. D, p. G04.

16 Donnan, et al., "The Rise and Fall of the South Dakota Weather Modification Pro-

gram," 1976, pp. 8-11.

"Ibid., pp. 12-14.

380

participation. The Commission developed an increased emphasis on

public information through over 100 public meetings in the fall and

winter of 1974-75, institution of a daily news release program during

the 1975 operational season, and expansion of the advisory committee to

include representatives from all the counties in each district. The fiscal

year 1976 budget was again included in the general appropriations bill.

Although evaluations had indicated positive results from the previous

seeding, South Dakota was suffering from a potentially severe drought

and the mood of the legislature was less supportive than in earlier

years. An attempt to move the appropriations from the general appro-

priations bill to a special appropriation requiring a two-thirds vote

test was defeated, however, and $776,500 was approved for fiscal year

1976. With county funds, the total budget for that year was $1,076,800,

and another $41,500 from the Bureau of Reclamation was provided to

support evaluations. 28

With the approach of the 1976 summer season, 42 counties provided

letters of intent to participate, and the proposed budget in the Gover-

nor's fiscal year 1977 general appropriations bill included $855,000 for

the statewide weather modification program. It became obvious that the

group opposing the State program had become well organized and in-

fluential. Concentrating their efforts in a few key counties where the

commissioners were overwhelmed by groups of strong opponents, the

opposition was instrumental in changing the decisions to participate

by those counties. In turn, these actions had negative effects on neigh-

boring counties. Consequently the 42 counties indicating intention to

participate in 1976 dwindled to 22 counties which signed contracts with

the Weather Modification Commission. In the legislature, meanwhile,

there was a successful move to remove the weather modification budget

from the Governor's general appropriation bill. A special appropria-

tion bill was promptly introduced, along with two other weather modi-

fication bills. One would have repealed the entire, existing weather

modification law, and the other would have required a hearing by each

county commission prior to issuance of a permit. None of these bills, in-

cluding the special appropriation measure, passed the legislature, so

that no funds were available to conduct the State program in fiscal year

1977. The Weather Modification Commission continued to function

as the State regulatory agency for issuance of licenses and permits. 29

Support of operational weather modification projects in South Da-

kota reverted, therefore, to the pattern of private and county funding

which existed prior to establishment of the statewide program, and

the number of such projects decreased dramatically. With funds avail-

able for part of the 1976 season, the State weather modification pro-

vided some support to local projects in nine southeastern counties and

to three counties in the northwest. The latter joined with the proiect in

southwestern North Dakota for the 1976 season. The South Dakota

Commission also contracted with the State of North Dakota to carry

out an evaluation program for 1976 operations in South Dakota.

Another five-county area in the eastern part of the State operated a

project with no State support during September 1976, originating after

2 * Ibid., pp. 12-14.

29 Ibid., pp. 14-16.

381

the drought extended into that area. 30 Counties included in projects

maps in figures 5 and 6, and information on these projects is included

in tables 16 and 17, all of which appear in the section on the discussion

of North Dakota activities.

Four weather modification bills were introduced into the 1977 legis-

lature, one of which was a special appropriation bill which would have

provided 50-percent State support to operations in the estimated 30

counties interested in such a cooperative program. The special appro-

priation failed as did the other bills, and during 1977 only Harding

County, in the northwest, sponsored a seeding program, using county

funds and contracting with the adjacent project in North Dakota for

some of the required services. An attempted 1977 cooperative project in

five southeastern counties, supported by private and some county funds,

did not get underway. No weather modification bills were presented in

the 1978 legislature, though minimal funding has been approved by the

legislature in the past two sessions in the general appropriations bill

to maintain the Weather Modification Commission. 31

UTAH

tion programs and one of the more complete organizational structures

for administering State projects and regulations provided by law. The

Divison of Water Resources is charged with developing the waters of

the State to the best beneficial use for citizens of Utah, considered to

be the second driest State in the Nation. 32 The Utah weather modifica-

tion law, titled Cloud Seeding to Increase Precipitation, was passed by

the State legislature March 5, 1973, and became effective May 8, 1973.

In part, the law states :

The State of Utah through the Division of Water Resources shall be the only

entity, private or public, that shall have authority to authorize, sponsor, and/or

develop cloud seeding research, evaluation, or implementation projects to alter

precipitation, cloud form, or meteorological parameter within the State of Utah,

except cloud seeding for suppression of fog is excluded. The Division of Water

Resources shall authorize, sponsor, and/or develop local or statewide cloud seed-

ing projects that conform to overall State water planning objectives which are

determined to be feasible by the Division of Water Resources. ... A cloud seeding

project as used in this act shall be a planned project to evaluate meteorological

conditions, perform cloud seedings, and evaluate results. 33

As designated by this law, the Division of Water Resources is the

State agency responsible for regulation and sponsorship of weather

modification projects. A Board of Water Resources has approved a

set of rules and regulations which stipulate requirements for licensing

of operations and obtaining permits on specific projects. 34 These rules

are included in appendix M.

30 Butler, Vern D., "Report of weather modification activities in South Dakota" (part of

report of area No. 5 — North Central States). North American Interstate Weat' er Modifica-

tion Council, business meeting, Dec. 2-3, 1976. In NAIWMC publication No. 77-1. Septem-

ber 1977. p. 78.

31 Butler, Vern D., private communication.

32 Summers. Paul C. Utah cloud seeding program, briefing before the U.S. Department of

Commerce Weather Modification Advisory Board, Sept. 24, 1977.

33 Utah Code Annotated No. 73-15-3. Cloud seeding to increase precipitation — control of

division of water resources — powers and authority of division — "cloud seeding" and

"cloud-seeding project" defined. (The Utnh weather modification law is included in its en-

tirety along with similar laws of other States in app. D, p. 612.)

34 State of Utah, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water Resources, "Rules,

Regulations, and Procedures Relating to the Utah Cloud Seeding Act of 1973" (Laws of

Utah, ch. 193), March 1976, 13 pp.

34-857 O - 79 - 27

382

The State's cloud seeding program is administered by a small stall'

groups of experts. The Program Advisory Committee (PAC) includes

representatives from State, Federal, and local agencies, such as the

Forest Service, the National Park Service, State Lands, and local user

groups who have either a direct or indirect interest in the program.

The Technical Advisory Group (TAG) is composed of meteorologists

from the National Weather Service, the Bureau of Reclamation, tho

University of Utah, and Utah State University as well as statisticians

from the Soil Conservation Service and the University of Utah. 35

The operational cloud-seeding program in Utah is organized on a

State-county basis, where costs are shared between the State and the

counties or other political subdivisions. The cost sharing ratio is ap-

proximately 60 percent State to 40 percent local. From 1973 through

1975, before State funds were available, a group of counties in the

southern part of the State, an area of somewhat constant drought,

contracted for seeding winter clouds to increase mountain snowpack.

In 1975 the legislature appropriated State funds, however, which per-

mitted expansion of seeding operations to 1-1 southern counties, cover-

ing about 60 percent of the land area of the State. That same year

three northern counties joined three southern counties in Idaho, ini-

tiating a project for rain enhancement and hail suppression that has

been conducted during the summers of 1976 and 1977. The severe

drought conditions of the past year led to increased interest from local

officials and increased funding from the State legislature, so that

projects were conducted in all but three of the State's 29 counties

during 197T. 36

The Utah program also supports weather modification research.

State funds have been earmarked for research activities as well as for

evaluation and environmental monitoring. In particular, weather mod-

ification research at the Utah Water Research Laboratory, formerly

supported by the Bureau of Reclamation, is now funded by the State,

since Federal "Sky water" funds have not been available in recent years.

The State has officially agreed to support the proposed plan of the

Bureau of Reclamation to augment water supplies in the Colorado

River through cloud seeding in the major watersheds in the river

basin. The Division of Water Resources recently concluded an agree-

ment with the Bureau to begin preliminary project design in the Uinta

Mountains of eastern Utah in preparation for this project. 37

WASHINGTON

Under the weather modification law of the State of Washington 38

the Department of Ecology is charged with responsibility for super-

vision and control of all weather modification activities conducted

within the State. The department also represents the State in all inter-

state contacts relating to weather modification. In accordance with

regulations promulgated by the State to implement the administra-

tion of the law, the Department of Ecology carries out the State's

program of regulation which requires the issuing of licenses and per-

mits, the payment of fees, and the reporting of activities. These regu-

lations, reproduced in appendix M, apply to all weather modification

•« Summers, "Utah Cloud Seeding Program," 1977.

38 Ibid.

37 Ibid.

28 RCW 43.37.010 through 910. See app. D for the text of the Washington law, p. 613.

383

Activities which are exempted from licensing, permit, and liability