Bill Description

AN ACT relating to environmental quality; prohibiting the release of atmospheric contaminants into the airspace above Wyoming as specified; providing legislative findings; providing definitions; authorizing the director of the department of environmental quality to monitor compliance with this act and issue cease and desist orders as specified; prohibiting retaliation against persons who report violations of this act; providing criminal penalties; providing positions; providing appropriations; requiring rulemaking; making conforming amendments; and providing for an effective date.

Notes

HB012 recognizes that Federal agencies, international bodies, corporations and research institutions have proposed, studied or in some cases undertaken atmospheric modification experiments intended to alter weather, temperature or solar radiation.

The risks to human health, agriculture, wildlife and environmental safety from atmospheric modification experiments and other atmospheric interventions are not well understood and may have harmful consequences.  Furthermore, it is the constitutional duty of state government to safeguard public health, defend private property, protect agricultural integrity and assert state sovereignty over activities conducted within its borders and above its skies under the tenth amendment of the United States constitution.

This bill would prohibit atmospheric modification experiments, protect public health and ensure that the Wyoming department of environmental quality is empowered to monitor and enforce air quality protections.

Specifically, this bill prohibits the intentional injecting, release or disbursement by any means any atmospheric contaminant within Wyoming or the airspace above Wyoming for the purpose of altering climate, weather or solar radiation. Atmospheric contaminant" means any substance intentionally released into the atmosphere for the purpose of altering climate, weather or solar radiation, including but not limited to sulfates, smart dust, perflouroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, genetically modified particles, chaff or radioactive materials. "Atmospheric contaminant" shall not mean exhaust from standard aviation using fuels permitted by law, emissions from agricultural or forestry operations permitted by law, fire suppression agents, cloud seeding agents or naturally occurring atmospheric particulates

Furthermore, the bill prohibits the following activities:

·      Solar radiation management - experimental techniques designed to reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the earth's surface through reflective particles or other methods 

·      Stratospheric aerosol injection - the release of reflective aerosols into the stratosphere by aircraft, balloons or other means

·      Weather modification - any action intended to change or interfere with the natural development of cloud forms, precipitation, barometric pressure, temperature or other atmospheric conditions