Vermont : 2025-2026 Regular Session : BILL H0217
An act relating to prohibiting geoengineering
Sponsor: Rep Gregory Burtt & Rep Carolyn Branagan & Rep Voranus Coffin IV & Rep Jonathan Cooper & Rep Joshua Dobrovich & Rep Kenneth Goslant & Rep Zachary Harvey & Rep Mark Higley & Rep Jed Lipsky & Rep Leland Morgan & Rep Richard Nelson & Rep Robert North & Rep John O'Brien & Rep Debra Powers & Rep Christopher Pritchard & Rep Michael Southworth & Rep Shawn Sweeney & Rep Michael Tagliavia & Rep Kenneth Wells & Rep Kevin Winter
Bill Details
An act relating to prohibiting geoengineering
Bill summary (AI generated)
• The bill, known as the “Vermont Clean Air Preservation Act,” aims to prohibit the use of solar radiation modification, cloud seeding, geoengineering, and other polluting atmospheric experiments and interventions. • It prohibits any person or entity (which includes individuals, corporations, universities, state agencies, the federal government, and artificial intelligence) from engaging in solar radiation modification (SRM) or any polluting atmospheric intervention within Vermont. • The definition of “Geoengineering” explicitly encompasses SRM, sunlight reflection methods, stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), marine cloud brightening (MCB), cirrus cloud thinning (CCT), and cloud seeding. • A broad array of materials and agents are classified as “Pollutants,” including PFAS (“forever chemicals”), chaff, chemicals, electromagnetic fields (like RF/MW radiation), and mechanical vibration. • The Vermont State Police or a sheriff must immediately issue a cease-and-desist order when an unlawful polluting atmospheric intervention is suspected, with the order carrying the weight of a court order. • The enforcement system requires that each sheriff shall deputize and train one or more Vermont citizens to help investigate and enforce the provisions. • If an activity deemed a hazard has been approved by the federal government, the State Police or a sheriff must issue a notice that the activity cannot lawfully be carried out over Vermont. • The bill introduces a requirement for communications facilities to undergo an independent licensed radiofrequency (RF) engineering evaluation to ensure signal strength does not exceed -75 dBm, imposing a fine of not more than $50,000.00 per day for non-compliance. • Violations constitute a felony, punishable by a fine of not more than $50,000.00 or imprisonment for not more than two years, or both. Each day of violation is a separate offense. • There are no specified companion bills mentioned in the sources.
History
The bill was filed in November 2024 and has since been processed through several legislative steps. It was referred to various committees, including Environment and Natural Resources and later to the Appropriations Committee. There have been discussions and votes within the committees, where it received amendments and faced some opposition. The bill has now been read for the first time, and its next steps involve further review and potential votes in the committees it has been assigned to. The bill is still active and has not passed or failed yet.
- Thu 13 Feb 2025 Read first time and referred to the Committee on Environment
Bill text (Transcribed)
H217 - Vermont 2025-2026 session
An act relating to prohibiting geoengineering
BILL AS INTRODUCED H.217 2025
Introduced by Representatives Burtt of Cabot, Branagan of Georgia, Coffin of Cavendish, Cooper of Pownal, Dobrovich of Williamstown, Goslant of Northfield, Harvey of Castleton, Higley of Lowell, Lipsky of Stowe, Morgan, L. of Milton, Nelson of Derby, North of Ferrisburgh, O’Brien of Tunbridge, Powers of Waterford, Pritchard of Pawlet, Southworth of Walden, Sweeney of Shelburne, Tagliavia of Corinth, Wells of Brownington, and Winter of Ludlow
Subject: Conservation and development; air pollution; geoengineering Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to prohibit the use of solar radiation modification, cloud seeding, geoengineering, and other polluting atmospheric experiments and interventions. It would require reports of violations to be made to the Vermont State Police, sheriffs, or deputized Vermont citizens to enforce the provisions.
An act relating to prohibiting geoengineering
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
Sec. 1. SHORT TITLE
This act may be cited as the “Vermont Clean Air Preservation Act.”
Sec. 2. 10 V.S.A. chapter 23A is added to read:
CHAPTER 23A. GEOENGINEERING
§ 587. DEFINITIONS
As used in this chapter:
(1) “Atmospheric activity” means any polluting experiment or intervention conducted by any person, artificial intelligence, or any combination thereof, that occurs in the atmosphere and may have harmful consequences upon health, the environment, or agriculture.
(2) “Chaff” means aluminum-coated silica glass fibers typically dispersed in bundles containing 5,000,000 to 100,000,000 inhalable fibers, which fall to the ground in about one day, or for nano-chaff, years, and then fall and break apart. Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), known also as “forever chemicals,” are an ingredient in chaff.
(3) “Cloud seeding” is a type of weather engineering or experimentation that may change the amount or type of precipitation by dispersing chemicals or chemical compounds such as dry ice (CO2), silver iodide (AgI), or Tri-methyl aluminum (TMA) into the atmosphere by means of aircraft or ground generators.
(4) “Entity” means any of the following: individual; trust; firm; joint stock company; corporation, including a quasigovernmental corporation; nongovernmental organization; public or private partnership; association; syndicate; municipality or municipal agency; program; fire district; club; nonprofit agency; commission; university; college or academic institution; State department or agency; the federal government or any interstate or international governance or instrumentality thereof, including foreign, domestic, and mercenary armed services or region within the United States; and artificial intelligence.
(5) “Geoengineering” means the intentional large-scale alteration or manipulation of the environment involving the release of aerosols, chemicals, chemical compounds, electromagnetic radiation, or other physical agents that increase air pollution and effect changes to the earth’s atmosphere or surface, inclusive of solar radiation modification, sunlight reflection methods, stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), cirrus cloud thinning (CCT), marine cloud brightening (MCB), or cloud seeding.
(6) “Hazard” means a process, substance, or physical agent that by its nature is harmful to living organisms generally or to property or another interest of value.
(7) “Intervention” means the act of interfering with weather processes or altering atmospheric or environmental conditions or releasing pollutants by methods including SRM, SAI, MCB, CCT, weather modification, cloud seeding, or outdoor pollution dispersion modeling.
(8) “Physical agent” means an agent, other than a substance, including radiofrequency/microwave (RF/MW) and other electromagnetic radiation and fields, barometric pressure, temperature, gravity, kinetic or de facto weaponry, mechanical vibration, and sound.
(9) “Pollutant” means any aerosol; biologic; biologic or genetically modified agent; perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) known also as “forever chemicals”; chaff; substance, including smoke, vapor, soot, fumes, acid, alkalis, chemicals, chemical compounds, and smart dust; artificially produced electric fields; magnetic fields, electromagnetic fields, electromagnetic pulse (EMP), sound waves, sound pollution, light pollution, and microwaves; and all artificially produced ionizing or nonionizing radiation or waste.
(10) “Pollution” means the discharge, dispersal, deposition, injection, release, seepage, migration, or escape of pollutants.
(11) “Release” means any activity that results in the issuance of pollutants such as the emitting, transmitting, discharging, or injecting of one or more nuclear; biological; biological, chemical, or physical agents into the ambient atmosphere, whether once, intermittently, or continuously.
(12) “Solar radiation modification,” “sunlight reflection methods,” or “SRM” means an experiment in the earth’s climatic system involving the release of pollutants that reduces the amount of sunlight reaching the earth’s surface. Scientific dimensions of SRM include the use of interoperable ground-based, airborne, and space-based facilities.
(13) “State Guard” means the entity established pursuant to 20 V.S.A. chapter 61.
(14) “Weather engineering” means the deliberate manipulation or alteration of the environment for the purpose of changing the weather or climate by artificial means, through interventions involving the release of pollutants into the atmosphere via cloud seeding for small-scale, large-scale, and global-scale alteration of the environment.
(15) “Weather modification” means changing, controlling, or interfering with or attempting to change, control, or interfere with the natural development of cloud forms, precipitation, barometric pressure, temperature, conductivity, or other electromagnetic or sonic characteristics of the atmosphere.
§ 588. PROHIBITION ON GEOENGINEERING
(a) No person or entity shall engage in solar radiation modification (SRM) or any polluting atmospheric intervention in Vermont, including using an aircraft, a balloon, a space-based platform, a ground generator, or an interoperable ground-based facility.
(b) The Vermont State Police or a sheriff shall immediately issue a cease and-desist order when an unlawful polluting atmospheric intervention is suspected. The cease-and-desist order under this section shall have the weight of a court order and any violation shall be punished in accordance with section 589a of this chapter.
(c) Government and armed forces projects shall meet all the requirements of this chapter. If an activity deemed a hazard pursuant to this chapter has been approved, explicitly or implicitly, by the federal government, the State Police or a sheriff shall issue a notice to the appropriate federal agency that the activity cannot lawfully be carried out within or over the State of Vermont.
(d) This chapter shall be implemented by the State Police and sheriffs, who shall determine whether violations have occurred and, if deemed necessary, shall refer potentially prohibited activity to the Vermont Air National Guard or State Guard. The State Police and the Vermont Air National Guard shall develop a policy to determine the process for referring violations to the National Guard and what the enforcement procedure is.
§ 589. COMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE
(a) Communications facilities shall be subject to evaluation by an independent licensed radiofrequency (RF) engineer paid for by the facility owner because SRM includes the use of interoperable ground-based, airborne, and space-based facilities and heightened radiation levels.
(b) The RF engineer shall provide findings in a report to be submitted to the local sheriff. The radiation signal strength metered at the reported location is not to exceed -75 dBm (decibel-milliwatt) for any frequency or channel band specified by a transmitting entity’s FCC transmission license; or, maximum power output limit from all frequencies or antennas from a wireless facility is not to exceed 0.1 watt of effective radiated power (ERP) so as to provide -75 dBm signal strength at one-half mile, or five bars on a cell phone. If signal strength metered by the RF engineer is in excess of -75 dBm, the facility operator has 30 days to achieve compliance without disruption to performance of Vermonters’ personal wireless services. The State Police shall perform random testing from time to time to ensure facility compliance with this chapter. Failure to comply will result in a fine of not more than $50,000.00 per day for each day the facility is out of compliance. Deliberate falsification or altering of information related to this section shall constitute a violation of this chapter. All public and private entities operating in the state shall comply with the requirements of this section.
§ 589a. PENALTIES AND ENFORCEMENT
(a) An entity or individual who engages in a polluting atmospheric intervention or who uses an unmarked or unidentified aircraft or other vehicle or facility to carry out SRM, SAI, geoengineering, weather modification, cloud-seeding, or any other polluting atmospheric intervention:
has committed a felony and shall pay a fine of not more than $50,000.00 or be imprisoned for not more than two years, or both;
shall be guilty of a separate offense for each day during which violative activity has been conducted, repeated, or continued; and
shall be subject to the penalties of any other applicable pollution laws.
(b) Each sheriff shall deputize and train one or more Vermont citizens to help enforce the provisions of this chapter. The State Police, sheriff, or a deputized Vermont citizen shall investigate reports of SRM, polluting atmospheric interventions, or radiation to ensure compliance with the requirements of this chapter.
Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE
This act shall take effect on passage.
An act relating to prohibiting geoengineering
BILL AS INTRODUCED H.217 2025
Introduced by Representatives Burtt of Cabot, Branagan of Georgia, Coffin of Cavendish, Cooper of Pownal, Dobrovich of Williamstown, Goslant of Northfield, Harvey of Castleton, Higley of Lowell, Lipsky of Stowe, Morgan, L. of Milton, Nelson of Derby, North of Ferrisburgh, O’Brien of Tunbridge, Powers of Waterford, Pritchard of Pawlet, Southworth of Walden, Sweeney of Shelburne, Tagliavia of Corinth, Wells of Brownington, and Winter of Ludlow
Subject: Conservation and development; air pollution; geoengineering Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to prohibit the use of solar radiation modification, cloud seeding, geoengineering, and other polluting atmospheric experiments and interventions. It would require reports of violations to be made to the Vermont State Police, sheriffs, or deputized Vermont citizens to enforce the provisions.
An act relating to prohibiting geoengineering
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
Sec. 1. SHORT TITLE
This act may be cited as the “Vermont Clean Air Preservation Act.”
Sec. 2. 10 V.S.A. chapter 23A is added to read:
CHAPTER 23A. GEOENGINEERING
§ 587. DEFINITIONS
As used in this chapter:
(1) “Atmospheric activity” means any polluting experiment or intervention conducted by any person, artificial intelligence, or any combination thereof, that occurs in the atmosphere and may have harmful consequences upon health, the environment, or agriculture.
(2) “Chaff” means aluminum-coated silica glass fibers typically dispersed in bundles containing 5,000,000 to 100,000,000 inhalable fibers, which fall to the ground in about one day, or for nano-chaff, years, and then fall and break apart. Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), known also as “forever chemicals,” are an ingredient in chaff.
(3) “Cloud seeding” is a type of weather engineering or experimentation that may change the amount or type of precipitation by dispersing chemicals or chemical compounds such as dry ice (CO2), silver iodide (AgI), or Tri-methyl aluminum (TMA) into the atmosphere by means of aircraft or ground generators.
(4) “Entity” means any of the following: individual; trust; firm; joint stock company; corporation, including a quasigovernmental corporation; nongovernmental organization; public or private partnership; association; syndicate; municipality or municipal agency; program; fire district; club; nonprofit agency; commission; university; college or academic institution; State department or agency; the federal government or any interstate or international governance or instrumentality thereof, including foreign, domestic, and mercenary armed services or region within the United States; and artificial intelligence.
(5) “Geoengineering” means the intentional large-scale alteration or manipulation of the environment involving the release of aerosols, chemicals, chemical compounds, electromagnetic radiation, or other physical agents that increase air pollution and effect changes to the earth’s atmosphere or surface, inclusive of solar radiation modification, sunlight reflection methods, stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), cirrus cloud thinning (CCT), marine cloud brightening (MCB), or cloud seeding.
(6) “Hazard” means a process, substance, or physical agent that by its nature is harmful to living organisms generally or to property or another interest of value.
(7) “Intervention” means the act of interfering with weather processes or altering atmospheric or environmental conditions or releasing pollutants by methods including SRM, SAI, MCB, CCT, weather modification, cloud seeding, or outdoor pollution dispersion modeling.
(8) “Physical agent” means an agent, other than a substance, including radiofrequency/microwave (RF/MW) and other electromagnetic radiation and fields, barometric pressure, temperature, gravity, kinetic or de facto weaponry, mechanical vibration, and sound.
(9) “Pollutant” means any aerosol; biologic; biologic or genetically modified agent; perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) known also as “forever chemicals”; chaff; substance, including smoke, vapor, soot, fumes, acid, alkalis, chemicals, chemical compounds, and smart dust; artificially produced electric fields; magnetic fields, electromagnetic fields, electromagnetic pulse (EMP), sound waves, sound pollution, light pollution, and microwaves; and all artificially produced ionizing or nonionizing radiation or waste.
(10) “Pollution” means the discharge, dispersal, deposition, injection, release, seepage, migration, or escape of pollutants.
(11) “Release” means any activity that results in the issuance of pollutants such as the emitting, transmitting, discharging, or injecting of one or more nuclear; biological; biological, chemical, or physical agents into the ambient atmosphere, whether once, intermittently, or continuously.
(12) “Solar radiation modification,” “sunlight reflection methods,” or “SRM” means an experiment in the earth’s climatic system involving the release of pollutants that reduces the amount of sunlight reaching the earth’s surface. Scientific dimensions of SRM include the use of interoperable ground-based, airborne, and space-based facilities.
(13) “State Guard” means the entity established pursuant to 20 V.S.A. chapter 61.
(14) “Weather engineering” means the deliberate manipulation or alteration of the environment for the purpose of changing the weather or climate by artificial means, through interventions involving the release of pollutants into the atmosphere via cloud seeding for small-scale, large-scale, and global-scale alteration of the environment.
(15) “Weather modification” means changing, controlling, or interfering with or attempting to change, control, or interfere with the natural development of cloud forms, precipitation, barometric pressure, temperature, conductivity, or other electromagnetic or sonic characteristics of the atmosphere.
§ 588. PROHIBITION ON GEOENGINEERING
(a) No person or entity shall engage in solar radiation modification (SRM) or any polluting atmospheric intervention in Vermont, including using an aircraft, a balloon, a space-based platform, a ground generator, or an interoperable ground-based facility.
(b) The Vermont State Police or a sheriff shall immediately issue a cease and-desist order when an unlawful polluting atmospheric intervention is suspected. The cease-and-desist order under this section shall have the weight of a court order and any violation shall be punished in accordance with section 589a of this chapter.
(c) Government and armed forces projects shall meet all the requirements of this chapter. If an activity deemed a hazard pursuant to this chapter has been approved, explicitly or implicitly, by the federal government, the State Police or a sheriff shall issue a notice to the appropriate federal agency that the activity cannot lawfully be carried out within or over the State of Vermont.
(d) This chapter shall be implemented by the State Police and sheriffs, who shall determine whether violations have occurred and, if deemed necessary, shall refer potentially prohibited activity to the Vermont Air National Guard or State Guard. The State Police and the Vermont Air National Guard shall develop a policy to determine the process for referring violations to the National Guard and what the enforcement procedure is.
§ 589. COMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE
(a) Communications facilities shall be subject to evaluation by an independent licensed radiofrequency (RF) engineer paid for by the facility owner because SRM includes the use of interoperable ground-based, airborne, and space-based facilities and heightened radiation levels.
(b) The RF engineer shall provide findings in a report to be submitted to the local sheriff. The radiation signal strength metered at the reported location is not to exceed -75 dBm (decibel-milliwatt) for any frequency or channel band specified by a transmitting entity’s FCC transmission license; or, maximum power output limit from all frequencies or antennas from a wireless facility is not to exceed 0.1 watt of effective radiated power (ERP) so as to provide -75 dBm signal strength at one-half mile, or five bars on a cell phone. If signal strength metered by the RF engineer is in excess of -75 dBm, the facility operator has 30 days to achieve compliance without disruption to performance of Vermonters’ personal wireless services. The State Police shall perform random testing from time to time to ensure facility compliance with this chapter. Failure to comply will result in a fine of not more than $50,000.00 per day for each day the facility is out of compliance. Deliberate falsification or altering of information related to this section shall constitute a violation of this chapter. All public and private entities operating in the state shall comply with the requirements of this section.
§ 589a. PENALTIES AND ENFORCEMENT
(a) An entity or individual who engages in a polluting atmospheric intervention or who uses an unmarked or unidentified aircraft or other vehicle or facility to carry out SRM, SAI, geoengineering, weather modification, cloud-seeding, or any other polluting atmospheric intervention:
has committed a felony and shall pay a fine of not more than $50,000.00 or be imprisoned for not more than two years, or both;
shall be guilty of a separate offense for each day during which violative activity has been conducted, repeated, or continued; and
shall be subject to the penalties of any other applicable pollution laws.
(b) Each sheriff shall deputize and train one or more Vermont citizens to help enforce the provisions of this chapter. The State Police, sheriff, or a deputized Vermont citizen shall investigate reports of SRM, polluting atmospheric interventions, or radiation to ensure compliance with the requirements of this chapter.
Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE
This act shall take effect on passage.