GeoLawWatch: Tracking Weather & Climate Legislation

H 362 seeks to ban atmospheric modification activities by updating North Carolina's Air Pollution Control statute (G.S. 143-213 and G.S. 143-215.108) with new definitions and rules. The bill is nearly identical to the Senate companion bill, S 485, but a critical difference lies in the wording of the prohibition.

New Definition Added to G.S. 143-213:

• "Atmospheric modification" is defined as stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), cloud seeding, electromagnetic radio frequency or microwave radiation emissions, or other atmospheric polluting activity affecting temperature, weather, intensity of sunlight, the environment, agriculture, wildlife, human health and safety, aviation, state security, or the economy of the State.
• Definition explicitly excludes "the application of pesticides via aircraft under a license issued by the Pesticide Board pursuant to Article 52 of this Chapter."

New Prohibition Added to G.S. 143-215.108(a):

Prohibits any person from intentionally injecting, releasing, or dispersing, by any means, chemicals, chemical compounds, substances, or apparatus within the borders of North Carolina into the atmosphere with the intentional or sole purpose of atmospheric modification

The main difference from S 485 is that H 362 uses the phrase "intentional or sole purpose," while S 485 uses "intentional and sole purpose." This small change creates very different legal standards. The House version would ban activities if atmospheric modification is either an intended purpose or the only purpose, so it could apply even when there are multiple reasons for the activity. The Senate version is stricter, banning activities only when atmospheric modification is both intentional and the only purpose.

Regulatory Implementation:

• The Environmental Management Commission must draft rules to implement the new law.
• No specific timeline provided for rulemaking beyond the general effective date

The bill has some key gaps. It does not include specific penalties, enforcement steps, or criminal or civil consequences for breaking the new rules. North Carolina's Air Pollution Control statute (G.S. 143-215.108) already includes general penalties that would likely apply, but the bill does not specify penalties for atmospheric modification violations. It also does not address federal preemption, aircraft flying in state airspace under federal control, or how state officials would detect or enforce violations of these activities.

One unusual provision is the explicit exclusion of licensed pesticide application by aircraft. This exemption shows that lawmakers are aware of the potential for overreach and want to ensure that legitimate agricultural aerial operations are not affected by the ban on atmospheric modification.