Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 183 / Friday, September 20, 2024 / Proposed Rules 77057 

counterclockwise to the point of origination. 

This Class E airspace area is effective during 

the specific dates and times established in 

advance by a Notice to Air Missions. The 

effective dates and times will thereafter be 

continuously published in the Chart 

Supplement. 

* * * * * 

Paragraph 6005 Class E Airspace Areas 

Extending Upward From 700 Feet or More 

Above the Surface of the Earth. 

* * * * * 

AWP AZ E5 Flagstaff, AZ [Amended] 

Flagstaff Pulliam Airport, AZ 

(Lat 35°08′25′′ N, long 111°40′09′′ W) 

That airspace extending upward from 700 

feet above the surface within a 16.8-mile 

radius of the Flagstaff Pulliam Airport. 

* * * * * 

Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on September 

16, 2024. 

Steven T. Phillips, 

Acting Manager, Operations Support Group, 

ATO Central Service Center. 

[FR Doc. 2024–21430 Filed 9–19–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

15 CFR Part 908 

Notice of Receipt and Request for 

Public Comment on Petition for 

Rulemaking Regarding Maintaining 

Records and Submitting Reports on 

Weather Modification Activities 

AGENCY: Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Research, National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, 

Department of Commerce. 

ACTION: Receipt of petition for 

rulemaking; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: On March 12, 2024, the 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (‘‘NOAA’’) received a 

petition from the Environment, Energy 

& Natural Resources Center at the 

University of Houston Law Center, the 

Institute for Responsible Carbon 

Management, and a collection of 

environmental law professors and 

environmental policy experts 

(collectively ‘‘Petitioners’’) to amend 

NOAA’s reporting regulations under the 

Weather Modification Reporting Act of 

1972. Through this notification, NOAA 

seeks comment on the topics contained 

in the petition, as well as any data or 

information that could be used in the 

Agency’s determination whether to 

grant the petition. By seeking comment 

on whether to grant this petition, NOAA 

takes no position at this time regarding 

the merits of the suggested rulemaking 

or the assertions in the petition. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

November 19, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAA– 

OAR–2024–0091, by Electronic 

Submission. Submit all electronic 

comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking 

Portal. Go to https://

www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA– 

OAR–2024–0091 in the Search box. 

Click on the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, complete 

the required fields, and enter or attach 

your comments. 

Comments sent by any other method, 

to any other address or individual, or 

received after the end of the comment 

period, may not be considered by 

NOAA. All comments received are a 

part of the public record and will 

generally be posted for public viewing 

on www.regulations.gov without change. 

All personal identifying information 

(e.g., name and address), confidential 

business information, or otherwise 

sensitive information submitted 

voluntarily by the sender will be 

publicly accessible. NOAA will accept 

anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in 

the required fields if you wish to remain 

anonymous). 

An electronic copy of the petition is 

available in the docket on 

regulations.gov by searching NOAA– 

OAR–2024–0091. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jessie Carman, 202–381–7037. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Weather Modification Reporting 

Act of 1972, 15 U.S.C. 330 et seq. (Pub. 

L. 92–205), requires that all persons 

who ‘‘engage, or attempt to engage, in 

any weather modification activity in the 

United States’’ report such activities to 

the U.S. Secretary of Commerce ‘‘in 

such form and containing such 

information, as the Secretary may by 

rule prescribe.’’ 15 U.S.C. 330a; see also 

15 CFR part 908. 

The National Weather Modification 

Policy Act of 1976, 15 U.S.C. 330 note 

(Pub. L. 94–490), directed the Secretary 

to study ‘‘the state of scientific 

knowledge concerning weather 

modification, the present state of 

development of weather modification 

technology, the problems impeding 

effective implementation of weather 

modification technology, and other 

related matters.’’ 15 U.S.C. 330 note. It 

was the declared purpose of Congress 

‘‘to develop a comprehensive and 

coordinated national weather 

modification policy and a national 

program of weather modification 

research and development[.]’’ Id. 

The Administrative Procedure Act 

(‘‘APA’’), 5 U.S.C. 551 et seq., provides 

that ‘‘[e]ach agency shall give an 

interested person the right to petition 

for the issuance, amendment, or repeal 

of a rule.’’ 5 U.S.C. 553(e). On March 12, 

2024, NOAA received a request from 

Petitioners to amend NOAA’s reporting 

regulations under the Weather 

Modification Reporting Act of 1972 ‘‘to 

expand and clarify their application to 

[ ] private Solar Radiation Modification 

(SRM) activities.’’ The petition describes 

SRM as including, but not limited to, 

the injection of aerosol and aerosol 

precursors into the stratosphere or into 

marine stratocumulus clouds in efforts 

to cool Earth’s surface by increasing 

Earth’s albedo. 

Request for Information 

NOAA solicits public comment on the 

petition for rulemaking to amend 

NOAA’s reporting regulations under the 

Weather Modification Reporting Act. 

NOAA is particularly interested in (1) 

how NOAA should update 15 CFR part 

908 reporting requirements to account 

for solar radiation modification 

experiments, (2) what reporting 

requirements NOAA should include 

regarding potential and/or measured 

environmental impacts of weather 

modification experiments given the 

state of the science and current 

detection capabilities, (3) the spatial 

scale of weather modification 

experiments and their intended effects 

for which NOAA should request in 

submitted reports, and (4) whether, 

under existing statutory authorities, 

NOAA should pursue a broader 

regulatory strategy for solar radiation 

modification research and 

experimentation. NOAA will consider 

public comments received in 

determining whether to proceed with 

the petition’s requested revisions. Upon 

determining whether to initiate the 

requested rulemaking, NOAA will 

publish in the Federal Register the 

Agency’s notice of proposed rulemaking 

with a request for public comment. 

Dated: July 30, 2024. 

David Holst, 

CFO/CAO for Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Research, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration. 

Editorial Note: The Office of the Federal 

Register received this document on 

September 17, 2024. 

[FR Doc. 2024–21567 Filed 9–19–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–KD–P 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1