GeoLawWatch: Tracking Weather & Climate Legislation

SUMMARY
Rhode Island House Bill 7578 would establish state regulation of solar radiation management and climate geoengineering activities, requiring governmental approval before such practices could be conducted in the state. This represents a narrower and more refined approach than previous legislative attempts in 2014 and 2015, focusing specifically on large-scale manipulation of the global environment intended to manipulate the climate with the primary intention of reducing undesirable climatic change caused by human beings.
The bill defines climate geoengineering to include attempts to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to reduce radiative forcing and global warming, as well as solar radiation management approaches focused on reducing the amount of solar radiation absorbed by the Earth. Such approaches specifically include sulphur aerosol injection in the stratosphere to reflect incoming shortwave radiation back into space and marine cloud brightening involving injection of marine stratiform clouds with seawater droplets to increase their reflectivity. The definition notably expands "air contaminant" to include aerosol particles, including genetically modified particles, alongside traditional pollutants.
The legislation sets forth extensive findings declaring that solar radiation management and climate geoengineering research is in an extremely early stage and could have significant economic and environmental impacts on Rhode Island, including decreased precipitation, altered monsoon patterns, delayed ozone hole recovery, regional droughts leading to water conflicts, reduced sunlight affecting solar energy systems, increased acid rain from injected compounds damaging forests, crops, structures, and ocean ecosystems, and numerous unforeseen environmental harms. The General Assembly declares that whilst the potential use of such technologies merits scientific investigation and public debate, research and potential deployment must be strictly regulated with environmental impact assessment for activities above certain thresholds.
Any person seeking to implement solar radiation management and climate geoengineering in Rhode Island would be required to file an application with the Director of the Department of Environmental Management. The application must include a detailed description of the proposed project including purpose, scope, and methods to ensure transparency for reporting results, as well as a description of researcher qualifications and methods to minimise potential impacts. For proposals where potential environmental impact exceeds that of common commercial activities, with an initial threshold of 10 to the power of negative 6 watts per square metre, the Director must conduct an environmental impact statement conforming to United States Environmental Protection Agency standards under the National Environmental Policy Act.
The Director must convene a minimum of two public hearings to review all proposals and solicit comment from the Department of Health, the Coastal Resources Management Council, and various divisions within the Department of Environmental Management. Following the environmental impact statement, public hearings, and agency comments, the Director would decide whether to permit the proposed activity and what limitations and safeguards to impose. For proposals assessed to have potential environmental impact below the established threshold, environmental impact assessment would not be required, though public hearings and agency consultation would still be conducted. Aggrieved parties may appeal the Director's decision through the Administrative Procedures Act.
Violations carry penalties of up to five hundred dollars or ninety days imprisonment, or both, with each day of unauthorised activity constituting a separate offence. Violations would also be deemed violations of the Air Pollution Episode Control Act, subjecting offenders to that chapter's provisions including the use of executive orders to restrain violators. The Director is authorised to promulgate rules and regulations governing the application process, application contents, and standards for approval decisions.
SOUNDBITE
Rhode Island House Bill 7578, introduced in 2016, would have required anyone seeking to conduct solar radiation management or climate geoengineering to obtain permission from the state environmental director following environmental impact assessment for activities above specified thresholds and public hearings, with violations punishable by fines up to five hundred dollars and imprisonment up to ninety days.
HISTORY
The bill was introduced on 11th February 2016 by Representatives MacBeth and Price and referred to the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee. This represented a third attempt to pass geoengineering regulation legislation, following similar bills in 2014 and 2015. The 2016 version refined the approach by narrowing the focus to solar radiation management and climate geoengineering specifically, introducing quantifiable environmental impact thresholds, and requiring formal environmental impact statements for activities exceeding those thresholds. A hearing was scheduled for 25th February 2016. Following that hearing, the committee recommended the measure be held for further study, which is a procedural mechanism allowing committees to decline advancing legislation without formally rejecting it and typically signals the bill will not proceed during that legislative session. Unlike the 2015 bill which received a second hearing opportunity, the 2016 bill received only one committee hearing before being held for further study. The bill did not advance beyond committee consideration.
BILL TEXT
A N A C T
RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY GEOENGINEERING
Introduced By Representatives MacBeth and Price
Date Introduced February 11 2016
Referred To House Environment and Natural Resources
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows
SECTION 1 Title 23 of the General Laws entitled HEALTH AND SAFETY is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter
CHAPTER 23.8
THE CLIMATE GEOENGINEERING ACT OF 2016
23-23.8-1 Short title This chapter shall be known and may be cited as The Climate Geoengineering Act of 2016
23-23.8-2 Definitions As used in this chapter the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings
1 Air contaminant means soot cinders ashes dust fumes gas aerosol particles including genetically modified particles mist or smoke vapor odor toxic or radioactive materials particulate matter or any combination of these
2 Air pollution means presence in the outdoor atmosphere of one or more air contaminants in sufficient quantities which either alone or in connection with other emissions by reason of their concentration and duration may be injurious to human plant or animal life or cause damage to property or which unreasonably interfere with the enjoyment of life and property This threshold is set forth in section 23-23.8-5
3 Area means not only that portion or portions of the state as shall be described in the air pollution episode declaration of the governor but also to any other portion or portions of the state where activities are carried on which contribute or may contribute to the air pollution episode in the portion or portions of the state described in the governors declaration
4 Department means the Rhode Island department of environmental management
5 Director means the director of the department of environmental management or any subordinate or subordinates to whom the director has delegated the powers and duties vested in them by this chapter
6 Climate geoengineering is defined as large-scale manipulation of the global environment intended to manipulate the climate with the primary intention of reducing undesirable climatic change caused by human beings Such options may include but are not limited to the following
i Attempts to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to reduce radiative forcing and thus global warming and
ii Solar radiation management approaches focused on reducing the amount of solar radiation absorbed by the Earth by an amount sufficient to offset some or all of the increased trapping of infrared radiation by rising levels of greenhouse gases These options include sulfur aerosol injection in the stratosphere to reflect incoming shortwave radiation from the sun back into space and marine cloud brightening which contemplates injecting marine stratiform clouds with seawater droplets to increase their reflectivity to reflect more shortwave radiation back into space
7 Person means any individual trust firm joint stock company corporation including a quasi-governmental corporation partnership association syndicate municipality municipal or state agency fire district club nonprofit agency or any subdivision commission department bureau agency or department of state or federal government including quasi-government corporation or any interstate body
23-23.8-3 Findings of fact The general assembly finds and declares as follows
1 Solar radiation management and climate geoengineering research is in an extremely early stage but if unrestricted and unregulated could have an economic impact on the state by potentially allowing increased amounts of air contaminants and air pollution throughout all areas of the state
2 Solar radiation management and climate geoengineering approaches could also have a negative impact on the states economy as well as environmental soil water and air quality
3 Geoengineering could have a negative impact on the state by masking some impacts of greenhouse gases on the climate system while doing nothing to address the long-term climatic consequences of increased carbon dioxide CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere including ocean acidification a phenomenon that poses significant risks for ocean ecosystems particularly marine life
4 Potential but foreseeable hazards of solar radiation management and climate geoengineering could include
i Decreased precipitation and evaporation including alteration of monsoon patterns and potentially delayed recovery of the ozone hole
ii Producing reductions in regional rainfall that could rival those of past major droughts leading to winners and losers among the human population and possible conflicts over water
iv Reducing the total amount of direct sunlight reaching earths surface which could reduce the effectiveness of solar energy systems
vi Promoting an increase in acid rain loads from injection of sulfur aluminum oxide particles gases or other compounds which would cause adverse impacts when such compounds eventually fall into the troposphere and rain out onto the land and ocean including impacts on forests crops built structures and ocean ecosystems and
x Numerous other potential consequences that would produce air pollution air contaminants and other as yet unforeseen environmental harms
23-23.8-4 Declaration of solar radiation management climate geoengineering policy a With respect to solar radiation management and climate geoengineering options as described in this chapter the general assembly declares that while the potential use of solar radiation management climate geoengineering options is a topic worthy for both scientific and other public investigation and debate research and potential deployment should be strictly regulated by the state Such regulation should include environmental impact assessment for research or deployment above certain thresholds set forth in section 23-23.8-5 and the opportunity for input and comment from the general public as well as from the medical environmental and scientific communities
b Assessments of the impact of solar radiation climate and geoengineering research and or deployment must be performed on a continuous basis to ascertain potential impacts on the environment
23-23.8-5 Limitations on solar radiation management and climate geoengineering a Any person seeking to implement conduct or engage in any form of solar radiation management and climate geoengineering in any area of the state shall first file an application to do so with the director of the department of environmental management
The application should include all of the following information as well as other information deemed pertinent by the director and set forth in regulations for climate geoengineering approaches
1 A detailed description of the proposed project including its purpose scope and methods to ensure transparency for reporting of results
2 A description of the qualification of researchers and methods to ensure that potential impacts are minimized
c Upon receipt of a proposal for solar radiation management and climate geoengineering research or deployment the director will conduct an environmental impact statement conforming to the United States Environmental Protection Agency standards under the National Environmental Policy Act NEPA in all cases where the potential environmental impact is above that of common commercial activities with an initial threshold 10 to the power of negative 6 watts per square metre Upon receipt of such application the director shall also convene a set of public hearings to review the proposal which shall include a minimum of two 2 hearings where public comment on the application may take place
d The director shall also solicit comment on the application proposal from the department of health the coastal resources management council and various divisions from the department of environmental management
e After the conducting of the environmental impact statement public hearings and soliciting agency comments the director shall render a decision on whether to permit the proposed application for solar radiation and management climate geoengineering activities and if permitted what limitations and safeguards if any shall be placed upon the activity
f Any person aggrieved by a decision of the director may pursue an appeal of such decision through chapter 35 of title 42 administrative procedures act
g In all cases where the application assesses the potential environmental impact to be below the threshold established in subsection c of this section the proposal will not be subject to an environmental impact assessment however public hearings as set forth above will still be conducted as well as solicitation of comments from state agencies set forth above
23-23.8-6 Penalty for violations a Any person who knowingly engages in solar radiation management climate geoengineering within any area of the state or who knowingly fails to comply with the decision of the director shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars $500 or by imprisonment for not more than ninety 90 days or by both fine and imprisonment and every person shall be guilty of a separate and distinct offense for each day during which the act of solar radiation management climate geoengineering shall be conducted repeated or continued
b Any person who knowingly engages in solar radiation management and climate geoengineering within any area of the state or who knowingly fails to comply with the decision of the director shall also be deemed to be a violation of the air pollution episode control act pursuant to chapter 23 of title 23 and shall be subject to the provisions of that chapter including but not limited to the use of executive orders to limit and restrain the actions of the person in violation thereof
23-23.8-7 Rules and regulations The director shall promulgate rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this chapter including but not limited to rules and regulations governing the application process to implement solar radiation management climate geoengineering the contents of the application and the standards to be applied in making determinations as to whether to approve disallow or modify the application
SECTION 2 This act shall take effect upon passage