South Dakota : 2024 Regular Session : BILL SB215
Prohibit the intentional release of polluting emissions into the atmosphere by cloud seeding, weather modification, excessive electromagnetic radio frequency and microwave radiation and providing enforcement and penalties for violations.
Sponsor: Sen Tom Pischke & Sen Julie Frye-Mueller & Rep Phil Jensen & Rep John Sjaarda
Bill Details
Prohibit the intentional release of polluting emissions into the atmosphere by cloud seeding, weather modification, excessive electromagnetic radio frequency and microwave radiation and providing enforcement and penalties for violations.
GeoLawWatch Bill Summary
SB 215 would have prohibited the intentional release of polluting emissions into the atmosphere through cloud seeding, weather modification, and excessive electromagnetic radiation. The bill defined cloud seeding as weather modification using chemicals such as silver iodide, potassium iodide, and dry ice, dispersed via aircraft or ground generators. Stratospheric aerosol injection was defined as the introduction of aerosols into the stratosphere to create cooling effects by reducing sunlight, mimicking volcanic eruptions.
The enforcement framework was notably decentralised, placing primary authority with county sheriffs rather than state agencies. Any person could report suspected weather modification activities to the county sheriff, who would investigate if evidence warranted and could report findings to the Governor's office.
Upon discovery of weather engineering or cloud seeding where evidence of polluting emissions was presented, the Governor or county sheriff was required to immediately issue a cease-and-desist order carrying the weight of a court order. The Governor could call upon the Adjutant General of the South Dakota National Guard to identify aircraft or drones releasing aerosol emissions and order them to land at the nearest airport for investigation. State law enforcement and the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources could be engaged for investigations and environmental studies.
For federal activities approved by the federal government, the Governor or sheriff was required to notify the appropriate federal agency that the activity could not lawfully be carried out within or over South Dakota, citing the Tenth Amendment. Government agencies, universities, public or private entities, and armed forces operating within or above the state were subject to the act's requirements.
Using unmarked or unidentified aircraft for weather engineering or cloud seeding constituted a Class 6 felony with fines up to $500,000.
The bill established an elaborate citizen reporting system. The Governor and sheriffs were directed to encourage public monitoring and documentation of suspected activities. Citizens could submit photographs with location and time data, independent precipitation analyses, videography, microscopy, spectrometry, and metering evidence. Public officials who received such information were required to report it to the county sheriff within 24 hours.
Reports of excessive electromagnetic radiation—including detailed technical thresholds for radiofrequency emissions exceeding -85 dBm, electric fields exceeding 1 volt per meter, magnetic fields exceeding 1 milliGauss, and ionising radiation exceeding 0.02 milliSievert per hour—required emergency measurements within two hours. Sheriffs lacking professional metering equipment were directed to partner with state universities for expert investigative assistance.
Sheriffs were required to immediately order facility owners or operators to produce operational records and cease operations where excessive emissions were detected, with 24-hour evaluation deadlines and referral to the state's attorney for prosecution of suspected criminal activity.
History
SB 215 was introduced by Senator Pischke and received its first reading on January 31, 2024, with referral to the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. The committee scheduled a hearing for February 8, 2024.
At that hearing, the committee voted 7-0 to defer the bill to the 41st legislative day. In South Dakota's legislative calendar, the 41st legislative day falls after the session's effective end, making deferral to that date a procedural way to kill a bill without a recorded vote against it. This unanimous deferral suggests the committee found the bill's provisions—particularly the sheriff-based enforcement mechanism, National Guard involvement, and Tenth Amendment assertions against federal authority—too problematic to advance, while avoiding putting members on record with a direct rejection.
The bill's death in committee meant South Dakota's existing weather modification program, one of the longest-running state cloud seeding operations in the country, remained unaffected.
- Wed 31 Jan 2024 First read in Senate and referred to Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources S.J. 218
- Thu 08 Feb 2024 Scheduled for hearing
- Thu 08 Feb 2024 Agriculture and Natural Resources Deferred to the 41st legislative day, Passed, YEAS 7, NAYS 0.
Consolidated Bill Text
2024 South Dakota Legislature
Senate Bill 215
Introduced by: Senator Pischke
An Act to prohibit the intentional release of polluting emissions into the atmosphere by cloud seeding, weather modification, excessive electromagnetic radio frequency and microwave radiation and providing enforcement and penalties for violations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA:
Section 1. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 34A-1:
Terms used in this Act mean:
(1) "Cloud seeding," a type of weather modification that attempts to change the amount or type of precipitation by dispersing chemicals such as silver iodide, potassium iodide, and dry ice into the air by means of aircraft or ground generators;
(2) "Stratospheric aerosol injection," proposed method of solar radiation modification that would introduce aerosols into the stratosphere to create a cooling effect by reducing the amount of sunlight reaching the earth, mimicking what happens naturally during a volcanic eruption;
(3) "Weather modification," the act of altering or manipulating the weather; and
(4) "Xenobiotic," foreign to life.
Section 2. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 34A-1:
Any person may report a suspected aircraft, balloon, drone, facility, or other delivery system used for weather modifying applications, cloud seeding, or any atmospheric experimentation involving the release of polluting emissions detected by the public, law enforcement, first responders, or state officials to the county sheriff's office in the county in which it was observed or suspected. If the county sheriff finds the reported evidence worthy of investigation, the sheriff shall investigate further and may report supporting evidence of violative activity to the Governor's office.
Section 3. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 34A-1:
The Governor or the sheriff in the county where reported shall immediately issue a cease-and-desist order upon the discovery of weather engineering, cloud-seeding, or any other polluting atmospheric activity, where an agency, public official, department, office, program, or member of the public produces evidence to the Governor or sheriff that the activity involves a polluting emission. The cease-and-desist order has the weight of a court order and any violation is punishable under law.
The Governor may call upon the adjutant general of the South Dakota National Guard to identify and notify any aircraft, drone or other facility releasing aerosol emissions, electromagnetic radiation, or other pollutants into the atmosphere that they are required to cease and desist. The aircraft, drone or other facility must be ordered to land at the nearest available airport to be investigated for violative activity.
The Governor may call upon the state law enforcement to investigate instances that may be in violation of this Act. The Governor may call upon the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources for environmental studies to investigate if and what chemicals may have been dispersed in violation of this Act.
Section 4. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 34A-1:
Where an activity that the Governor or any sheriff has deemed hazardous has been approved, explicitly or implicitly, by the federal government, the Governor or the sheriff shall issue a notice to the appropriate federal agency, foreign state, or international body that the hazardous activity cannot lawfully be carried out within or over the state of South Dakota, pursuant to the Tenth Amendment. Government agencies or projects, universities, public or private entities, and armed forces operating within or above the state of South Dakota must meet all the requirements of this Act.
Section 5. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 34A-1:
No person may engage in a polluting atmospheric activity or use an unmarked or unidentified aircraft or other vehicle or facility to carry out a weather engineering, cloud-seeding, or other hazardous atmospheric activity. A violation of this section is a class 6 felony, except that a fine of five hundred thousand dollars may be imposed.
Section 6. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 34A-1:
The Governor and each county sheriff shall encourage the public to monitor, measure, document, and report incidents that may constitute cloud seeding, stratospheric aerosol injection, weather modification, or other environmental polluting activities. An individual who presents evidence of a polluting atmospheric activity shall e-mail or otherwise write and send any of the following to the county sheriff, or to the Governor's office:
(1) Evidentiary photographs, each separately titled as an electronic or hard-copy document, with the respective location from which, and if the content is from other than a measuring device, the direction in which, the photo was taken, with its time and date;
(2) Independent precipitation analysis reports, photography, videography, audiography, microscopy, spectrometry, metering, and other forms of evidence shall similarly be submitted in writing to the county sheriff, to any state office, or any state public official; or
(3) Videography of activity involving release of polluting emissions.
A public official who has received submitted information and has reason to suspect violative activity based on evidence presented by an individual or an agency must, directly or through a designee, report in writing within twenty-four hours all documentary and supportive evidence to the county sheriff for enforcement. The county sheriff may request assistance from state law enforcement to investigate possible violative activity as well as the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources for technical assistance and analysis of pollutants as needed.
A report to the county sheriff or Governor of polluting atmospheric emissions shall trigger investigation of the source and contents of the emissions, without limitation. Where the emissions are harmful to humans or the environment, per primary scientific study, enforcement must ensue.
A report to the county sheriff of excessive electromagnetic radiation or fields in any part of the spectrum, including without limitation microwave or maser, infrared, light or laser, ionizing or non-ionizing radiation, or report of intense mechanical vibration, noise, or other physical agent, with evidence, including possible photography, videography, audio recordings, measurements of the agents, or other detection, must result within two hours of receiving the report in emergency measurements of peaks and averages over time with the appropriate, calibrated meter and forensic detection devices at the reported location.
Where professional metering and monitoring equipment is needed but not owned by the state, the sheriff shall partner with state universities or colleges and their experts for investigative activity, so as to provide evidentiary findings that would qualify as scientific expert testimony.
Section 7. That a NEW SECTION be added:
Weather engineering or atmospheric experimentation involving the release of xenobiotic agents or electromagnetic radiation at hazardous levels requires enforcement as follows:
(1) The sheriff's immediate communication of the requirement of the owner or operator of each facility or infrastructure deploying or releasing the specific agent to produce records of the operations of any site where xenobiotic agents or excessive levels have been detected, and convey the records to the sheriff;
(2) The sheriff's immediate order to cease operations of the facility; and
(3) The sheriff's evaluation within twenty-four hours of the owner's or operator's performance in causing the cessation of all operations.
Section 8. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 34A-1:
The sheriff shall immediately require the owner or operator of each tower, antenna, other facility or infrastructure to produce records of the extant operations at sites where excessive xenobiotic electromagnetism and fields, mechanical vibration, or other physical agents are, or have been detected, specifically:
(1) Radiofrequency or microwave radiation, including maser, of signal strength metered at the reported, publicly accessible location in excess of negative eighty-five dBm for any frequency or channel band specified by a transmitting entity's FCC transmission license;
(2) Extreme-low-frequency alternating current electric fields in excess of 1 volt per meter;
(3) Magnetic fields in excess of one milliGauss;
(4) Ionizing radiation in excess of 0.02 milliSievert per hour;
(5) Laser or other light with harmful effects; or
(7) Any vibration, noise, saser, sonic weapon, or other physical agent exceeding building biology guidelines.
The owner or operator must convey the records to the sheriff within twenty-four hours.
The sheriff shall immediately order a cessation of operations of all antennas and other deployments of energy or vibration emitted from the measured structure or facility. The sheriff shall evaluate within twenty-four hours the owner or operator's performance in causing the cessation of all operations. The sheriff shall refer suspected criminal activity to the state's attorney for prosecution.