II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1807 

To establish the Weather Mitigation Advisory and Research Board, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 17, 2007 

Mrs. HUTCHISON introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To establish the Weather Mitigation Advisory and Research 

Board, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Weather Mitigation 

5 Research and Development Policy Authorization Act of 

6 2007’’. 

7 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

8 It is the purpose of this Act to develop and implement 

9 a comprehensive and coordinated national weather mitigaVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:16 Jul 19, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1807.IS S1807

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1 tion policy and a national cooperative Federal and State 

2 program of weather mitigation research and development. 

3 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) According to a 2003 report by the National 

6 Research Council, ‘‘people in drought- and hail7 prone areas willingly spend significant resources on 

8 weather mitigation programs, and in 2001 there 

9 were at least 66 operational programs being con10 ducted in 10 States across the United States. At the 

11 same time, less than a handful of weather mitigation 

12 research programs are underway worldwide, and re13 lated research in the United States has dropped to 

14 less than $500,000 per year from a high of 

15 $20,000,000 in the late 1970s.’’ The NRC report 

16 entitled ‘‘Critical Issues in Weather Modification Re17 search’’ also states that ‘‘a coordinated national pro18 gram of weather modification research is needed’’. 

19 Such a program is supported by States that need a 

20 scientific means of evaluating current programs and 

21 increasing their effectiveness through applied re22 search. 

23 (2) Droughts in the United States result in an 

24 average economic loss between $6,000,000,000 and 

25 $8,000,000,000 annually, while severe hail proVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:16 Jul 19, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1807.IS S1807

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1 ducing storms result in up to $2,300,000,000 dam2 age to crops and over $2,000,000,000 in property 

3 loss annually. Snowpack, rain enhancement, and hail 

4 suppression weather mitigation projects help reduce 

5 these losses, and additional research in these areas 

6 will make existing programs even more effective and 

7 permit them to better quantify their impacts. Recent 

8 droughts in the Western United States have pro9 duced low lake levels at Lake Powell and Lake Mead 

10 and have led the Seven Colorado River Basin States 

11 to create cooperative agreements. A separate cooper12 ative agreement is in place for wintertime snowfall 

13 enhancement programs in the States of Utah, Colo14 rado, and Wyoming to pursue water augmentation 

15 to benefit the entire Colorado River System. 

16 (3) Past and recent evaluations of the potential 

17 for snowpack augmentation by cloud seeding in the 

18 Colorado River Basin indicate a significant yield in 

19 runoff can be attained through properly designed 

20 projects. A 2006 evaluation by the Bureau of Rec21 lamation of the Department of the Interior indicates 

22 the potential for 800,000 additional acre-feet of 

23 water. 

24 (4) The impacts of possible climate change and 

25 the human impact on weather are not well underVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:16 Jul 19, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1807.IS S1807

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1 stood. Weather mitigation research could provide 

2 data on what, if any, impact pollution may have on 

3 the precipitation processes in cloud systems. Re4 search into inadvertent and planned weather mitiga5 tion may increase our understanding and knowledge 

6 of any potential impacts. 

7 (5) The recent Weather Damage Modification 

8 Program conducted by the Bureau of Reclamation 

9 employed a successful model for combining local, 

10 State, and Federal resources in providing a means 

11 for scientific evaluation of operational cloud-seeding 

12 projects (rainfall and snowfall enhancement and hail 

13 suppression) in North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, 

14 Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California. 

15 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this Act: 

17 (1) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the 

18 Weather Mitigation Advisory and Research Board 

19 established under section 5(a). 

20 (2) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Execu21 tive Director’’ means the Executive Director of the 

22 Board appointed under section 5(d). 

23 (3) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—The term 

24 ‘‘research and development’’ means theoretical anal25 ysis, exploration, experimentation, and the extension 


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1 of investigative findings and theories of a scientific 

2 or technical nature into practical application for ex3 perimental and demonstration purposes, including 

4 the experimental production and testing of models, 

5 devices, equipment, materials, and processes. 

6 SEC. 5. WEATHER MITIGATION ADVISORY AND RESEARCH 

7 BOARD ESTABLISHED. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

9 National Science Foundation the Weather Mitigation Ad10 visory and Research Board to establish and coordinate the 

11 national research and development program on weather 

12 mitigation described in section 6. 

13 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

14 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Board shall consist of 

15 11 members appointed by the Director of the Na16 tional Science Foundation as follows: 

17 (A) At least 2 members shall be represent18 atives of States that are currently supporting 

19 operational weather mitigation programs. 

20 (B) At least 2 members shall be a rep21 resentative of the National Center for Atmos22 pheric Research of the National Science Foun23 dation. 


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1 (C) At least 1 member shall be a rep2 resentative of National Aeronautics and Space 

3 Administration. 

4 (D) At least 1 member shall be a rep5 resentative of the American Meteorological So6 ciety. 

7 (E) At least 1 member shall be a rep8 resentative of the American Society of Civil En9 gineers. 

10 (F) At least 1 member shall be a rep11 resentative of the National Academy of 

12 Sciences. 

13 (G) At least 1 member shall be a rep14 resentative of the National Oceanic and Atmos15 pheric Administration of the Department of 

16 Commerce. 

17 (H) At least 1 member shall be a rep18 resentative of the Department of Agriculture. 

19 (I) At least 1 member shall be a represent20 ative of institutions of higher education or re21 search institutes with experience in the field. 

22 (2) TENURE.—A member of the Board shall 

23 serve at the pleasure of the Director of the National 

24 Science Foundation. 


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1 (3) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy on the Board 

2 shall be filled in the same manner as the original ap3 pointment. 

4 (c) CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.—The Board shall select 

5 a Chair and Vice Chair from among its members. 

6 (d) STAFF.—The Chair of the Board may appoint 

7 and terminate an executive director and such other addi8 tional personnel as may be necessary to enable the Board 

9 to perform its duties. The employment of an executive di10 rector shall be subject to confirmation by the Board. 

11 (e) ADVISORY COMMITTEES.—The Board may estab12 lish advisory committees to advise the Board and to make 

13 recommendations to the Board concerning legislation, poli14 cies, administration, research, and other matters. 

15 (f) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days after 

16 the date on which all members of the Board have been 

17 appointed, the Board shall hold its first meeting. 

18 (g) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet at the call of 

19 the Chair. 

20 (h) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the 

21 Board shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of 

22 members may hold hearings. 

23 (i) POWERS OF THE BOARD.— 

24 (1) STUDIES, INVESTIGATIONS, AND HEAR25 INGS.—The Board may conduct studies, obtain inVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:16 Jul 19, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1807.IS S1807

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1 formation, and hold hearings necessary to carry out 

2 the purposes of this Act. 

3 (2) COOPERATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES.— 

4 The Board may cooperate with public or private 

5 agencies to promote the purposes of this Act. 

6 (3) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Board 

7 may enter into cooperative agreements with the head 

8 of any department or agency of the United States, 

9 an appropriate official of any State or political sub10 division of a State, or an appropriate official of any 

11 private or public agency or organization to conduct 

12 research and development pertaining to weather 

13 mitigation. 

14 (4) CONDUCTING AND CONTRACTING FOR RE15 SEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—The Executive Direc16 tor, with the approval of the Board, may conduct or 

17 contract for research and development activities in 

18 accordance with section 6. 

19 SEC. 6. NATIONAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PRO20 GRAM ON WEATHER MITIGATION. 

21 (a) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Not later than 180 

22 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Exec23 utive Director shall develop and submit to Congress a plan 

24 for the establishment and coordination of the national reVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:16 Jul 19, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1807.IS S1807

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1 search and development program required by section 5(a). 

2 Such plan shall— 

3 (1) for the 10-year period beginning in the year 

4 it is submitted, establish the goals and priorities for 

5 Federal research that most effectively advance sci6 entific understanding of weather mitigation; 

7 (2) describe specific activities required to 

8 achieve such goals and priorities, including funding 

9 of competitive research grants, training and support 

10 for scientists, and participation in international re11 search efforts; 

12 (3) identify and address, as appropriate, rel13 evant programs and activities of the Federal agen14 cies and departments that would contribute to the 

15 program; 

16 (4) consider and use, as appropriate, reports 

17 and studies conducted by Federal agencies and de18 partments, weather modification organizations, and 

19 other expert scientific bodies, including the National 

20 Research Council report entitled ‘‘Critical Issues in 

21 Weather Modification Research’’; 

22 (5) make recommendations for the coordination 

23 of program activities with weather mitigation activi24 ties of other national and international organiza25 tions; and 


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1 (6) estimate Federal funding for research ac2 tivities to be conducted under the program. 

3 (b) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—The national research 

4 and development program required by section 5(a) may 

5 include the following activities related to weather mitiga6 tion: 

7 (1) Interdisciplinary research and development 

8 and coordination of research and development and 

9 activities to improve understanding of processes re10 lating to planned and inadvertent weather mitiga11 tion, including the following: 

12 (A) Research related to cloud and precipi13 tation physics. 

14 (B) Cloud dynamics and cloud modeling. 

15 (C) Improving cloud seeding-related tech16 nologies. 

17 (D) Severe weather and storm research. 

18 (E) Research related to potential adverse 

19 affects of weather mitigation. 

20 (2) Coordination with relevant organizations 

21 that engage in weather mitigation research. 

22 (3) Development through partnerships among 

23 Federal agencies, State agencies with weather modi24 fication experience, and academic institutions of new 

25 technologies and approaches for weather mitigation. 


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1 (4) Establishing scholarships and educational 

2 opportunities that encourage an interdisciplinary ap3 proach to weather mitigation. 

4 (5) Promotional activities in accordance with 

5 subsection (c). 

6 (6) Administering the grant program described 

7 in subsection (d). 

8 (c) PROMOTION OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOP9 MENT.—In order to assist in expanding the theoretical 

10 and practical knowledge of weather mitigation, the Board 

11 shall promote and fund research and development, studies, 

12 and investigations with respect to— 

13 (1) improved forecast and decision-making tech14 nologies for weather mitigation operations, including 

15 tailored computer workstations and software and 

16 new observation systems with remote sensors; and 

17 (2) assessments and evaluations of the efficacy 

18 of weather mitigation. 

19 (d) GRANT PROGRAM FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOP20 MENT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board may establish a 

22 grant program for the award of grants to eligible en23 tities for research and development projects that 

24 pertain to weather mitigation. To the extent prac25 ticable, the grant program shall be modeled after 


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1 both the Atmospheric Modification Program imple2 mented by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

3 Administration in 1980, and the Weather Damage 

4 Modification Program implemented by the Bureau of 

5 Reclamation of the Department of the Interior in 

6 2002. 

7 (2) AMOUNT.—The Board may not award a 

8 grant under this subsection in an amount that— 

9 (A) is greater than $500,000; or 

10 (B) is less than $50,000. 

11 (3) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Board may not 

12 award a grant under this subsection for a project if 

13 the Federal share of such project would be greater 

14 than 50 percent of the project cost, which may in15 clude in-kind services furnished by the participating 

16 State. 

17 (4) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—For purposes of this 

18 subsection, an eligible entity is a State agency, insti19 tution of higher education, or nonprofit organization 

20 that has— 

21 (A) an established background and exper22 tise in the field of weather mitigation; and 

23 (B) experience with working with and co24 ordinating with State agencies. 


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1 (5) USE OF FUNDS.—A recipient of a grant 

2 under this subsection may only use the grant for a 

3 research and development project that— 

4 (A) pertains to weather mitigation; and 

5 (B) was in operation on the day before the 

6 date the grant was awarded. 

7 SEC. 7. ANNUAL REPORT ON ACTIVITIES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 31, and 

9 annually thereafter, the Executive Director shall prepare 

10 and submit to the President and Congress an annual re11 port on the activities conducted pursuant to this Act dur12 ing the preceding calendar year, including the following: 

13 (1) A summary of the achievements of Federal 

14 weather mitigation research, including Federally 

15 supported external research, during the preceding 

16 fiscal year. 

17 (2) An analysis of the progress made toward 

18 achieving the goals and objectives of the plan devel19 oped under section 6(a), including the identification 

20 of trends. 

21 (3) A copy or summary of the plan required by 

22 section 6(a) and any changes made to the plan. 

23 (4) A summary of agency budgets for weather 

24 mitigation activities for the preceding fiscal year. 


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1 (5) Recommendations, if any, regarding addi2 tional action or legislation that may be required to 

3 assist in achieving the purposes of this Act. 

4 (6) A description of the relationship between re5 search conducted on weather mitigation and re6 search conducted pursuant to the Global Change Re7 search Act of 1990 (15 U.S.C. 2921 et seq.), as well 

8 as research on weather forecasting and prediction. 

9 (7) A description of any potential adverse con10 sequences on life, property, or water resource avail11 ability from weather mitigation efforts, and any sug12 gested means of mitigating or reducing such con13 sequences if such efforts are undertaken. 

14 (b) FIRST REPORT.—The first report required by 

15 subsection (a) shall be submitted on January 31 in the 

16 second calendar year following the date of the enactment 

17 of this Act. 

18 SEC. 8. COOPERATION WITH WEATHER MITIGATION ADVI19 SORY AND RESEARCH BOARD. 

20 The head of any department or agency of the United 

21 States and the head of any other public or private agency 

22 or institution that receives research funds from the United 

23 States shall, to the extent practicable, cooperate with the 

24 Board for purposes of carrying out this Act. 


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1 SEC. 9. FUNDING. 

2 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

3 are authorized to be appropriated to the Board for the 

4 purposes of carrying out this Act $10,000,000 for each 

5 of the fiscal years 2008 through 2017. Amounts appro6 priated pursuant to this subsection shall remain available 

7 until expended. 

8 (b) GIFTS.—The Board may accept, use, and dispose 

9 of gifts or donations of services or property. 

Æ 


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