Science, and transportation united states senate

Typhoon Moderation Research and Development Office

14 "'4 Quezon Avenue

Quezon City

Institut de mete orologie et d'hydrologie

Sos. Bucuresti-Ploiesti No. 97

Sector 1

Bucarest 18

Servicio Meteorolo/jico Nacional

Ciudad Universitaria

Apartado 235

Madrid

Federal Institute of Technology

H.P.P. HSnggerberg

G095 Zurich

The Royal Rain Making Research and Development

Institute

(no address given)

Turkish State Meteorological Service

Post Office Box Ho. 401

Ankara

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

6010 Executive Boulevard

Rockville, Maryland 20852

Direction de la Meteorologie Nationale

Boite Postale No. 576

Ouagadougou

Federal Hydrometeorological Institute

Bir&aninova 6

Post Office Box 604

11000 Belgrade

726

Member of WMO :

Reporting of activities in the year 19__.

1. Type (purpose) of weather modification activity or project :

2. Approximate size of the project area overall : km 2 .

and of the target area : km 2 .

3. Name and/or reference of project :

4. Location of area in which project is carried out :

5. Year project commenced : 19__.

6. Is it expected to continue during the coming year?

Yes No iNot known

7. Nature of national organization sponsoring project :

Please place X.

Governmental Private

Agriculture

Energy

Hydrology

Transportation

Other (please specify)

8. Description of weather modification apparatus, modification agents and their

dispersal rates, the techniques employed, etc. (see instructions) .

9. Months of current reporting year during which seeding or other weather

modification activity took place :

10. Number of days during the year on which seeding (or other weather modi-

fication activity) took place:

11. Was a document prepared on the possible effects on the environment of the

weather modification project?

Yes

No

13. Reporting agency :

(a) Name of reporting agency :

(b) Official title of responsible office :

(c) Postal address :

Signed :

Date:

Please complete and return this questionnaire as soon as possible, and in any

The Secretary-General

World Meteorological Organization

Case Postale No. 5

CH-1211 GENEVA 20

Notes for Completing Report on Weather Modification Activities

weather modification activities which should be included in the register

(1) The seeding or dispersing into clouds or fog of any substance with the

object of altering drop-size distribution, producing ice crystals or the coagulation

of droplets, altering the development of hail or lightning, or influencing in any

way the natural development cycle of clouds or their environment ;

(2) The use of fires or heat sources to influence convective circulation or to

evaporate fog ;

(3) The modification of the solar radiation exchange of the earth or clouds,

through the release of gases, dusts, liquids or aerosols into the atmosphere;

(4) The modification of the characteristics of land or water surfaces by dust-

ing or treating with powders, liquid sprays, dyes, or other materials;

(5) The releasing of electrically charged or radioactive particles, or ions, into

the atmosphere ;

(6) The application of shock waves, sonic energy sources, or other explosive

or acoustic sources to the atmosphere ;

727

as well as the use of jet engines and other sources of artificial wind generation ;

(8) The use of lasers or other sources of electromagnetic radiation ;

(9) Any other similar activities falling within the definition of weather

modification.

WEATHER MODIFICATION ACTIVITIES WHICH NEED NOT BE INCLUDED IN THE REGISTER

Activities of a purely local nature, such as the use of lightning deflection or

static discharge devices in aircraft, boats, or buildings, or the use of small heat

sources, fans, fogging devices, aircraft downwash, or sprays to prevent the oc-

currence of frost in tracts or fields planted with crops susceptible to frost or

freeze damage.

Completing the form

One completed copy of this form is requested for each weather modification

activity (hereafter referred to as the project) once per year.

Item 1 — Enter the purpose of the project or activity : e.g. rainfall increase,

hail suppression, cold fog dispersal, etc.

Item 2 — Enter the size (in km 2 ) of the area designated for the project, and

the size of the target area if different (see "Definition", item 4) .

Item 3 — Enter the name and/or reference of project used by the operator. If

the project was reported in the previous Register, please quote the WMO Regis-

ter Number which appears in column 1.

Item 4 — Indicate the location of the weather modification project by geographi-

cal co-ordinates and name of the region.

Item 5 — Enter the year in which the first activities under the present project

took place.

Item 6 — Indicate whether the project is expected to continue in the future.

Item 7 — Indicate the nature of the organization sponsoring the project and

whether it is governmental (including local governments) or private.

Item 8 — Describe the weather modification apparatus, modification agents and

the techniques used. This might include type of ground or airborne apparatus

used, type of modification material dispersed, rate of dispersal in grams per hour

or other appropriate descriptions, and other information such as type of radars,

type of aircraft used, techniques employed (e.g. cloud base seeding at 3,000

m msl), etc.

Item 9 — Enter the months of the year to which the report applies during which

seeding, etc.. was carried out.

Item 12 — This item is to permit the reporting person to include any information

not covered by item 1 through 11 but which he feels is significant or of interest

such as references to published reports describing results of the weather modifi-

cation operation or experiment. Any definite plans for a new project during the

coming year may be outlined under item 12.

Item 13 — Please supply the name and address of agency to which any request

for further information should be directed.

Use a separate sheet of paper if more space is needed.

Definitions

As used in the WMO Register, terms have the following meaning :

Item 1 — Type (purpose) of weather modification activity or project: By proj-

ect is meant a related series of weather modification activities having a common

objective. Will be included any activity performed with the intention of pro-

ducing artificial changes in the composition, behaviour or dynamics of the

atmosphere.

Item 4 — Location of area in which project is carried out : The area referred to

includes both the target area and control area. By target area is meant the

ground area within which the effects of the weather modification activity are

expected to be found, and by control area is meant a preselected, untreated

ground area used for comparison with the target area.

Item 8 — Description of weather modification apparatus, etc. : By weather modi-

fication apparatus is meant any apparatus used with the intention of producing

artificial changes in the composition, behaviour, or dynamics of the atmosphere.

For example : seeding generators, propane devices, flares, rockets, artillery pro-

jectiles, jet engines, etc.

Appendix Q

Report of the World Meteorological Organizatiox/United Na-

tions Environment Program Informal Meeting on Legal Aspects

of Weather Modification

World Meteorological Organization and United Nations Environment

Program, Geneva, November 17 to 21, 1975

1. organization of the meeting

J. I Opening of the meeting

1.1.1 The Chairman, Professor R. List, declared the meeting open at 10 :00

a.m. on Monday 17 November 1975. The list of participants is reproduced in Ap-

pendix A.

1.1.2 Mr. O. M. Ashford, Director of Program Planning and UN Affairs of

the WM() Secretariat, welcomed the participants to the Headcpiarters of WMO on

behalf of the Secretary-General, expressing appreciation to UNEP for having

taken the initiative in arranging the meeting and for providing support to the par-

ticipants. He observed that when the Seventh World Meteorological Congress in

April 1975 decided to launch the Weather Modification Program, this

marked a considerable change in the position of the Organization in this respect

which was in line with the trend to give greater attention to the broad socio-eco-

nomic responsibilities of WMO as a specialized agency of the United Nations.

WMO already collaborated with UNEP in some ten different projects, and the

present meeting where persons from different disciplines could discuss together

topics of common interest was a good example of such collaboration. In conclu-

sion Mr. Ashford gave a special word of thanks to the six experts nominated by

WMO who had agreed to come to present on behalf of the Organization the current

scientific situation in weather modification.

1.1.3 Mr. R. S. Mikhail, Deputy Director of the Division of Geophysics, Global

Pollution and Health of the UNEP Secretariat conveyed the greetings of the Ex-

ecutive Director of UNEP and expressed appreciation to WMO for having orga-

nized the meeting in Geneva and thanked the co-chairman and participants for

having come. He informed the meeting that the Governing Council of UNEP

in March 1975 had agreed that the dialogue between WMO and UNEP on legal

aspects of Weather Modification should continue since it was essential that inter-

national legal principles and guidelines should be considered hand in hand with

the scientific advancement of the subject. Mr. Mikhail expressed the opinion that

if the present state of scientific knowledge in the area of weather modification

was not yet adequate to permit the development of formal legal instruments for

the regulation of activities in this area, it was nevertheless feasible to develop

general principles and operating guidelines as a first step in that direction.

X.% Adoption of tlte agenda

1.2.1 The agenda as adopted as reproduced in Appendix P>. List of supporting

paper* available at the time of the meeting is reproduced in Appendix C.

2. REVIEW OF DEVELOPMENTS SINCE THE THIRD SESSION OF THE WMO EXECUTIVE

COMMITTEE PANEL ON WEATHER MODIFICATION IN NOVEMBER 1974

2.1 Relevant decision 8 of the third session of the Governing Council of T'NEP

2.1.1 The meeting was informed that according to the decisions of the Governing

Council, the strategy of UNEP in respect of the legal aspects of weather modifi-

cation is as follows :

1 ;i ' Consultations will be continued towards development of legal provi-

sions which would define the responsibility of States to ensure that weather

modification experiments and operations within their jurisdiction or control

(728)

729

the limits of national jurisdiction ;

(b) The Executive Director will continue to consult with WMO and other

scientific and legal experts as necessary on the desirability of developing

general principles and operating guidelines on weather modification experi-

ments and operations. He proposes a meeting between scientists and legal ex-

perts to develop such principles and guidelines. The question of calling an in-

tergovernmental meeting to approve such principles and guidelines would be

considered at a later stage, after consensus is reached between scientists and

legal advisers.

2.2 Relevant decisions of the seventh session of Congress and of the twenty-

seventh session of the Executive Committee of WMO

2.2.1 The Weather Modification Program of WMO incorporates as its most im-

portant component a Precipitation Enhancement Project (PEP) which will be

an internationally planned, executed and evaluated experiment in artificial pre-

cipitation stimulation. The meeting was informed that in Resolution 12 (Cg-VII)

Congress had specifically asked the Executive Committee in developing the

plans for PEP to give particular consideration to minimizing any legal liability of

WMO.

2.2.2 The position of the WMO Congress was in accord with that of the UNEP

be developed hand in hand with the scientific progress in the field of weather mod-

ification. Congress was of the opinion that a better understanding of the physical

basis of weather modification was needed before WMO would be able to provide

definitive advice to Members on this aspect of weather modification experiments

or operations.

2.2.3 The meeting agreed that scientific advancement in general did not pro-

gress smoothly, but was somewhat erratic and even subject to reverses on occa-

sions. It was suggested that over a relatively short time scale the keyword should

perhaps be "in phase" rather than "hand in hand".

2.3 Relevant decisions of the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament

(CCD) of the United Nations

2.3.1 The meeting noted with interest that at the request of the Conference of

the Commitee on Disarmament, some experts had attended an informal meeting

in Geneva in order to provide the Committee with scientific and technical back-

ground information concerning weather modification. Following this scientific

briefing, the representatives of the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. had submitted inde-

pendently an identical draft text for a convention on the prohibition of military

or any other hostile use of environmental modification techniques. The General

Assembly of the United Nations was currently discussing the report of the CCD

and would indicate the future action to be taken on this draft.

2.3.2 The meeting was also informed that it was proposed to include a limita-

tion on the use of environmental warfare in the protocols to the Geneva Conven-

tions of 1949 now under discussion in a Diplomatic Conference on Humanitarian

Law (Geneva).

3. REVIEW OF THE STATE OF THE ART AND POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENTS

3.1 National laws related to weather modification

3.1.1 Professor Samuels introduced this item and drew attention to some of the

difficulties encountered in obtaining accurate up-to-date information, and in com-

paring different legal systems. After summarizing the principal control tech-

niques and substantive rules as found mainly in the special laws of Australia,

Canada, South Africa, and the United States, he recommended in particular

the establishment of an international register of relevant national legislation

and the development of a model national law comprising certain essentials such

as registration and data reporting for all weather and climate modification

activities.

3.1.2 In the ensuing discussion, reference was made to additional sources of

national law, including the applicable rules contained in water legislation (e.g.,

Peru 1969), in natural resources legislation (e.g. Colombia 1974), and in the

general body of environmental, administrative and civil law (e.g., in the

U.S.S.R.) . It was pointed out that even in those countries where special legisla-

tion had been enacted, a single statutory text normally could not cover all rele-

vant aspects of weather modification.

730

lection and mutual exchange of legislative information, also from an educational

point of view. It was noted with satisfaction that WMO was initiating a register

of weather modification activities and that the questionnaire circulated to Mem-

bers to obtain information for inclusion in the register inquired as to the

existence of laws relating to weather modification activities in the country

concerned. The meeting suggested that WMO Members should be invited to

supply full details of such laws so as to facilitate a complete compilation of

national laws. However, the meeting agreed that indiscriminate transfer of laws

from one country to another was not practicable, but that laws needed to be

adapted to specific requirements of different legal and social systems.

3.1.4 In this connexion, reservations were expressed as to the feasibility of

technical assistance and expert advice by WMO/UNEP to individual states on

legal aspects of weather modification at the present stage of scientific knowledge.

In particular, while legal rules on registration and data reporting were generally

considered as beneficial, premature rules on liability for damage were viewed

as potentially counter-productive.

3.2 The science of weather modification

3.2.1 The meeting agreed that the discussion would be concerned solely with

intentional weather modification.

3.2.2 The meeting had the opportunity to examine the official WMO state-

ment released in 1974 entitled "Present state of knowledge and possible practical

benefits in some fields of weather modification" (see Appendix D) and also the

amplification of this statement which had been prepared for use by the Secretary-

General of WMO.

3.2.3 It was agreed that the statement and its amplification represented the

current state of knowledge in the field of weather modification ; the meeting noted

that the International Commission on Cloud Physics of the International Asso-

ciation of Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics (IAMP) and indicated

satisfaction at the statement and at Weather Modification Programs of WMO.

It was recalled that the Precipitation Enhancement Project of WMO was de-

signed to obtain further scientifically acceptable information concerning the

feasibility of artificial stimulation of precipitation.

3.2.4 The meeting was informed that the role of WMO at the present time in

helping developing countries was to give advice, on request, concerning proposed

weather modification projects and occasionally to provide experts under the

UNDP to visit countries in order to assess the possibilities of artificial precipita-

tion augmentation. It was hoped to arrange courses in weather modification and

to offer fellowships in these courses to a certain number of scientists from

developing countries.

3.2.5 Seventh Congress strongly urged that when a Member country or a

group of Members wished to conduct their own weather modification with the

advice of WMO, a special WMO group of experts be set up to advise on the

planning, implementation and evaluation of the project. The high scientific stat-

ure and independence of such a group would permit it to guide the project along

sound scientific lines and thereby assume the greatest chance of success and

ultimate acceptance of the results by the scientific community. The cost involved

In providing for a WMO group for a special project of this kind would be borne

by the Member or Members concerned.

3.2.6 There was a considerable discussion on the distinction for legal pur-

poses between a weather modification experiment and an operation. It was gen-

erally agreed that in an experiment the major objective was using scientifically

acceptable met bods to obtain information, whereas in an operation the objective

\\a- i.) influence the atmospheric processes so as to produce a desired effect, e.g.

additional rainfall. In the latter case, a scientific evaluation of the intervention

was frequently not made. It was pointed out however that for the purpose of

determination of legal liability the distinction was irrelevant.

■l.i Legal problems facing public and private operators

3.8.1 Professor Samuels introduced this agenda item. He suggested that the

key problem facing operators is tbe legal responsibility they may hear for damage

cans. , i by their activities. He pointed out the difference between legal systems

ae regards tbe type of damage for which compensation may be received, the

111 Of liability and tbe kind of proof required. He also drew attention to

possible Links between an operator's liability and a State's international respon-

sibility in the event of alleged extended area effects.

731

law and on the recourse available in situations involving alleged trans-frontier

damage, the meeting briefly reviewed past experience with court litigation regard-

ing injunctions and liability for damage. Weather modification activities, no

adverse effects of which have been proved on the basis of the present state of

scientific knowledge, were distinguished from other activities involving pollution

and other harmful effects ; the view was expressed that the development of new

beneficial technology should not be constrained unduly by "Punitive" legal sanc-

tions. Instead, the preventive function of administrative law was emphasized,

especially in the field of licensing procedures and mandatory environmental

impact assessment.

3.3.3 There followed a discussion on the practices of, and available controls

over, private operators engaged in weather modification abroad, especially in

developing countries. The meeting was informed of the 1973 recommendations

of the WMO Commission for Atmospheric Sciences, which advised governments

to seek advice from WMO on this subject and of the consequent decision of the

WMO Seventh Congress authorizing the Secretary-General to establish on re-

quest a special WMO group of experts to advise on the planning, implementation

and evaluation of projects where the costs involved will be borne by the Mem-

ber (s) concerned. (See paragraph 3.2.5 above.)