II 

Calendar No. 319 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 517 

[Report No. 109–202] 

To establish the Weather Modification Operations and Research Board, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 3, 2005 

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

referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

DECEMBER 8, 2005 

Reported under authority of the order of the Senate of November 18, 2005, 

by Mr. STEVENS, with an amendment and an amendment to the title 

[Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To establish the Weather Modification Operations 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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Weather Modification 

3 Research and Technology Transfer Authorization Act of 

4 2005’’. 

5 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

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

7 a comprehensive and coordinated national weather modi8 fication policy and a national cooperative Federal and 

9 State program of weather modification research and devel10 opment. 

11 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act: 

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

14 Weather Modification Advisory and Research Board. 

15 (2) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Execu16 tive Director’’ means the Executive Director of the 

17 Weather Modification Advisory and Research Board. 

18 (3) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—The term 

19 ‘‘research and development’’ means theoretical anal20 ysis, exploration, experimentation, and the extension 

21 of investigative findings and theories of scientific or 

22 technical nature into practical application for experi23 mental and demonstration purposes, including the 

24 experimental production and testing of models, de25 vices, equipment, materials, and processes. 
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1 (4) WEATHER MODIFICATION.—The term 

2 ‘‘weather modification’’ means changing or control3 ling, or attempting to change or control, by artificial 

4 methods the natural development of atmospheric 

5 cloud forms or precipitation forms which occur in 

6 the troposphere. 

7 SEC. 4. WEATHER MODIFICATION ADVISORY AND RE8 SEARCH BOARD ESTABLISHED. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the De10 partment of Commerce the Weather Modification Advisory 

11 and Research Board. 

12 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall consist of 

14 11 members appointed by the Secretary of Com15 merce, of whom— 

16 (A) at least 1 shall be a representative of 

17 the American Meteorological Society; 

18 (B) at least 1 shall be a representative of 

19 the American Society of Civil Engineers; 

20 (C) at least 1 shall be a representative of 

21 the National Academy of Sciences; 

22 (D) at least 1 shall be a representative of 

23 the National Center for Atmospheric Research 

24 of the National Science Foundation; 
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1 (E) at least 2 shall be representatives of 

2 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin3 istration of the Department of Commerce; 

4 (F) at least 1 shall be a representative of 

5 institutions of higher education or research in6 stitutes; and 

7 (G) at least 1 shall be a representative of 

8 a State that is currently supporting operational 

9 weather modification projects. 

10 (2) TENURE.—A member of the Board serves 

11 at the pleasure of the Secretary of Commerce. 

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

13 shall be filled in the same manner as the original ap14 pointment. 

15 (b) ADVISORY COMMITTEES.—The Board may estab16 lish advisory committees to advise the Board and to make 

17 recommendations to the Board concerning legislation, poli18 cies, administration, research, and other matters. 

19 (c) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days after 

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

21 appointed, the Board shall hold its first meeting. 

22 (d) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet at the call of 

23 the Chair. 
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1 (e) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the 

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

3 members may hold hearings. 

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

5 a Chair and Vice Chair from among its members. 

6 SEC. 5. DUTIES OF THE BOARD. 

7 (a) PROMOTION OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOP8 MENT.—In order to assist in expanding the theoretical 

9 and practical knowledge of weather modification, the 

10 Board shall promote and fund research and development, 

11 studies, and investigations with respect to— 

12 (1) improved forecast and decision-making tech13 nologies for weather modification operations, includ14 ing tailored computer workstations and software and 

15 new observation systems with remote sensors; and 

16 (2) assessments and evaluations of the efficacy 

17 of weather modification, both purposeful (including 

18 cloud-seeding operations) and inadvertent (including 

19 downwind effects and anthropogenic effects). 

20 (b) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—Unless the use of the 

21 money is restricted or subject to any limitations provided 

22 by law, the Board shall use amounts in the Weather Modi23 fication Research and Development Fund— 

24 (1) to pay its expenses in the administration of 

25 this Act, and 
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1 (2) to provide for research and development 

2 with respect to weather modifications by grants to, 

3 or contracts or cooperative arrangements, with pub4 lic or private agencies. 

5 (c) REPORT.—The Board shall submit to the Sec6 retary biennially a report on its findings and research re7 sults. 

8 SEC. 6. POWERS OF THE BOARD. 

9 (a) STUDIES, INVESTIGATIONS, AND HEARINGS.— 

10 The Board may make any studies or investigations, obtain 

11 any information, and hold any hearings necessary or prop12 er to administer or enforce this Act or any rules or orders 

13 issued under this Act. 

14 (b) PERSONNEL.—The Board may employ, as pro15 vided for in appropriations Acts, an Executive Director 

16 and other support staff necessary to perform duties and 

17 functions under this Act. 

18 (c) COOPERATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES.—The 

19 Board may cooperate with public or private agencies to 

20 promote the purposes of this Act. 

21 (d) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Board may 

22 enter into cooperative agreements with the head of any 

23 department or agency of the United States, an appropriate 

24 official of any State or political subdivision of a State, or 

25 an appropriate official of any private or public agency or 
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1 organization for conducting weather modification activities 

2 or cloud-seeding operations. 

3 (e) CONDUCT AND CONTRACTS FOR RESEARCH AND

4 DEVELOPMENT.—The Executive Director, with the ap5 proval of the Board, may conduct and may contract for 

6 research and development activities relating to the pur7 poses of this section. 

8 SEC. 7. COOPERATION WITH THE WEATHER MODIFICATION 

9 OPERATIONS AND RESEARCH BOARD. 

10 The heads of the departments and agencies of the 

11 United States and the heads of any other public or private 

12 agencies and institutions that receive research funds from 

13 the United States shall, to the extent possible, give full 

14 support and cooperation to the Board and to initiate inde15 pendent research and development programs that address 

16 weather modifications. 

17 SEC. 8. FUNDING. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established within the 

19 Treasury of the United States the Weather Modification 

20 Research and Development Fund, which shall consist of 

21 amounts appropriated pursuant to subsection (b) or re22 ceived by the Board under subsection (c). 

23 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

24 authorized to be appropriated to the Board for the pur25 poses of carrying out the provisions of this Act 
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1 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2014. 

2 Any sums appropriated under this subsection shall remain 

3 available, without fiscal year limitation, until expended. 

4 (c) GIFTS.—The Board may accept, use, and dispose 

5 of gifts or donations of services or property. 

6 SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

7 This Act shall take effect on October 1, 2005. 

8 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

9 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Weather Modification 

10 Research and Development Policy Authorization Act of 

11 2005’’. 

12 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

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

14 a comprehensive and coordinated national weather modi15 fication research policy and a national cooperative Federal 

16 and State program of weather modification research and 

17 development. 

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this Act: 

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

21 Weather Modification Research Advisory Board. 

22 (2) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—The term 

23 ‘‘research and development’’ means theoretical anal24 ysis, exploration, experimentation, and the extension 

25 of investigative findings and theories of a scientific or 
9 

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1 technical nature into practical application for experi2 mental and demonstration purposes, including the ex3 perimental production and testing of models, devices, 

4 equipment, materials, and processes. 

5 (3) WEATHER MODIFICATION.—The term 

6 ‘‘weather modification’’ means the purposeful or inad7 vertent changing or controlling, or attempting to 

8 change or control, by artificial methods, the natural 

9 development of atmospheric cloud forms or precipita10 tion forms which occur in the troposphere. 

11 SEC. 4. WEATHER MODIFICATION SUBCOMMITTEE. 

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of the Office of 

13 Science and Technology Policy shall establish a Weather 

14 Modification Subcommittee to coordinate a national re15 search program on weather modification. 

16 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Weather Modification Sub17 committee shall include representatives from appropriate 

18 Federal agencies, including the National Oceanic and At19 mospheric Administration, the National Science Founda20 tion, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administra21 tion. 

22 (c) CHAIRS OF THE WEATHER MODIFICATION SUB23 COMMITTEE.—A representative from the National Oceanic 

24 and Atmospheric Administration and a representative from 
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1 the National Science Foundation shall serve together as co2 chairs of the Weather Modification Subcommittee. 

3 (d) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Not later than 180 days 

4 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the 

5 Office of Science and Technology Policy shall develop and 

6 submit to Congress a plan for coordinated Federal activities 

7 under the national research program under subsection (a) 

8 and the plan shall— 

9 (1) for a 10-year period beginning in the year 

10 it is submitted, establish the goals and priorities for 

11 Federal research that most effectively advances sci12 entific understanding of weather modification; 

13 (2) describe specific activities required to achieve 

14 such goals and priorities, including funding of com15 petitive research grants, training and support for sci16 entists, and participation in international research 

17 efforts; 

18 (3) identify and address, as appropriate, rel19 evant programs and activities of the Federal agencies 

20 and departments that would contribute to the pro21 gram; 

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

23 studies conducted by Federal agencies and depart24 ments, and other expert scientific bodies, including 
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1 the National Research Council report on Critical 

2 Issues in Weather Modification Research; 

3 (5) make recommendations for the coordination 

4 of program activities with weather modification ac5 tivities of other national and international organiza6 tions; 

7 (6) incorporate recommendations from the 

8 Weather Modification Research Advisory Board; and 

9 (7) estimate Federal funding for research activi10 ties to be conducted under the program described in 

11 subsection (a). 

12 (e) PROGRAM SCOPE.—The national research program 

13 under subsection (a) may include the following activities 

14 related to weather modification: 

15 (1) Interdisciplinary research and coordination 

16 of research and activities to improve understanding of 

17 processes relating to weather modification, includ18 ing— 

19 (A) cloud modeling; 

20 (B) cloud seeding; 

21 (C) improving forecast and decision-making 

22 technologies; 

23 (D) related severe weather research; and 

24 (E) potential adverse affects of weather 

25 modification. 
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1 (2) Coordination with relevant organizations 

2 that engage in weather modification research. 

3 (3) Development through partnerships among 

4 Federal agencies, States, and academic institutions of 

5 new technologies and approaches for weather modi6 fication. 

7 (4) Scholarships and educational opportunities 

8 that encourage an interdisciplinary approach to 

9 weather modification. 

10 (f) ANNUAL REPORT ON ACTIVITIES.—Beginning with 

11 the first year occurring more than 24 months after the date 

12 of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Science 

13 and Technology Policy shall prepare and submit to the 

14 President and Congress not later than January 31st of each 

15 year an annual report on the activities conducted pursuant 

16 to this section during the preceding fiscal year, including— 

17 (1) a summary of the achievements of Federal 

18 weather modification research, including Federally 

19 supported external research, during the preceding fis20 cal year; 

21 (2) an analysis of the progress made toward 

22 achieving the goals and objectives of the plan devel23 oped under subsection (d), including the identifica24 tion of trends; 
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1 (3) a copy or summary of the plan and any 

2 changes made to the plan; 

3 (4) a summary of agency budgets for weather 

4 modification activities for the preceding fiscal year; 

5 (5) any recommendations regarding additional 

6 action or legislation that may be required to assist in 

7 achieving the purposes of this Act; 

8 (6) a description of the relationship between re9 search conducted on weather modification and re10 search conducted pursuant to the Global Change Re11 search Act of 1990 (15 U.S.C. 2921 et seq.), as well 

12 as research on weather forecasting and prediction; 

13 and 

14 (7) a description of any potential adverse con15 sequences on life, property, or water resource avail16 ability from weather modification efforts, and any 

17 suggested means of mitigating or reducing such con18 sequences if such efforts are undertaken. 

19 SEC. 5. WEATHER MODIFICATION RESEARCH ADVISORY 

20 BOARD ESTABLISHED. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the Of22 fice of Science and Technology Policy the Weather Modifica23 tion Research Advisory Board to make recommendations to 

24 the Weather Modification Subcommittee on matters related 

25 to weather modification. 
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1 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

2 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Board shall consist of 9 

3 members, each with a field of expertise in atmospheric 

4 science or civil engineering relevant to weather modi5 fication, and appointed by the Director of the Office 

6 of Science and Technology Policy as follows: 

7 (A) At least 1 member shall be a representa8 tive of the American Meteorological Society. 

9 (B) At least 1 member shall be a representa10 tive of the American Society of Civil Engineers. 

11 (C) At least 1 member shall be a representa12 tive of the National Academy of Sciences. 

13 (D) At least 1 member shall be a representa14 tive of institutions of higher education or re15 search institutes with experience in the field. 

16 (E) At least 1 member shall be a representa17 tive of a State organization that is currently 

18 supporting operational weather modification 

19 projects. 

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

21 at the pleasure of the Director of the Office of Science 

22 and Technology Policy. 

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

24 shall be filled in the same manner as the original ap25 pointment. 
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1 (c) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days after 

2 the date on which all members of the Board have been ap3 pointed, the Board shall hold its first meeting. 

4 (d) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet at the call of 

5 the Chair. 

6 (e) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the Board 

7 shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of members 

8 may hold hearings. 

9 (f) CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.—The Board shall select 

10 a Chair and Vice Chair from among its members. 

11 (g) DUTIES OF THE BOARD.—The duties of the Board 

12 shall include the following: 

13 (1) Advising the Weather Modification Sub14 committee on recommendations concerning legislation, 

15 policies, administration, research, and other matters 

16 related to weather modification. 

17 (2) In order to assist in expanding the theo18 retical and practical knowledge of weather modifica19 tion, the Board shall advise the Weather Modification 

20 Subcommittee on the research and development, stud21 ies, and investigations with respect to— 

22 (A) potential uses of technologies and obser23 vation systems for weather modification research; 

24 and 
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1 (B) assessments and evaluations of the effi2 cacy of weather modification, both purposeful, 

3 including cloud-seeding operations, and inad4 vertent, including downwind effects and anthro5 pogenic effects. 

6 (h) POWERS OF THE BOARD.—The Board may con7 duct public meetings, gather information, and issue reports. 

8 SEC. 6. COOPERATION WITH THE WEATHER MODIFICATION 

9 SUBCOMMITTEE. 

10 The heads of the departments and agencies of the 

11 United States and the heads of any other public or private 

12 agencies and institutions that receive research funds from 

13 the United States related to weather modification shall, to 

14 the extent possible, give full support and cooperation to the 

15 Weather Modification Subcommittee. 

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘To establish a coordinated national weather modification research and development program, and for other purposes’’. 

Calendar No. 319 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 517 

[Report No. 109–202] 

A BILL 

To establish the Weather Modification Operations 

and Research Board, and for other purposes. 

DECEMBER 8, 2005 

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the 

title