Stop Cloud Seeding Now: Demand Independent Environmental Review and Federal Oversight

The Issue

Across the American West, cloud‑seeding programs have expanded for decades with almost no public awareness, no environmental review, and no modern federal oversight. Aircraft, ground generators, and aerosol systems are modifying winter storms every year, even though the full environmental and atmospheric impacts have never been independently assessed.

We are asking Congress to order an immediate precautionary pause on all non‑essential weather‑modification activity in the United States. This pause should remain in place until independent scientists can evaluate the environmental, hydrological, and atmospheric impacts of cloud seeding. If those assessments show harm, the activity must stop. If they show minimal or manageable impact, operations should only resume under modern, transparent regulation.

Right now, cloud seeding is governed by a 1972 reporting law that does not require environmental review, public disclosure, or federal oversight. States and private contractors can modify shared storm systems without evaluating downstream effects, cumulative impacts, or long‑term ecological risks. No national registry exists. No environmental impact statements are required. No agency tracks the total aerosol load released into the atmosphere.

This is a regulatory gap that would never be allowed in any other environmental domain. When the impacts of a widespread intervention are unknown, the responsible first step is to pause, study, and only continue if it is proven safe.

To protect the public, the environment, and the integrity of shared atmospheric systems, we are calling on Congress to adopt the following non‑negotiable requirements for any future weather‑modification activity.

Regulatory Requirements for Any Future Weather‑Modification Activity

  1. No activity without independent environmental review
    All cloud‑seeding programs must undergo independent environmental and atmospheric impact assessments before any operation resumes.
  2. No activity without full public disclosure
    All methods, chemicals, locations, operators, and funding sources must be publicly disclosed in advance.
  3. No activity without a national public registry
    A real‑time, searchable registry must list all weather‑modification operations, contractors, and target areas.
  4. No activity without interstate governance
    Storm systems cross state lines. Regulation must too. Multi‑state compacts or federal coordination must govern shared basins.
  5. No activity without enforceable penalties
    Violations must carry meaningful civil and criminal penalties. Voluntary reporting is not regulation.
  6. No activity if environmental harm is identified
    If independent assessments show ecological, hydrological, or atmospheric harm, the activity must cease.
  7. No activity without periodic congressional reauthorization
    Weather‑modification programs must be subject to recurring review and cannot expand without explicit congressional approval.
  8. No activity with financial conflicts of interest
    Environmental reviews must be funded through neutral appropriations. Agencies may not accept payment from applicants to expedite Environmental Assessments (EA) or Environmental Impact Statements (EIS).

These are structural protections, not technical details. They ensure that no agency, state, or contractor can modify the atmosphere at scale without transparency, accountability, and scientific review.

The atmosphere is a shared public resource. It does not belong to any single state, agency, or contractor, and it should not be altered at scale without independent science, public transparency, and modern oversight. A precautionary pause is the only responsible first step. From there, any future activity must meet clear, non‑negotiable standards that protect communities, ecosystems, and downstream states.

For too long, weather‑modification programs have expanded quietly, without the environmental review or public accountability required for any other intervention of this scale. That gap exists because Congress has never updated the law. It is time to change that. A pause, a full scientific assessment, and a modern regulatory framework are not radical demands — they are the minimum protections any democratic society should expect.

By signing this petition, you are calling on Congress to act with the urgency this issue deserves. You are asking for transparency where there has been opacity, oversight where there has been neglect, and science where there has been assumption. You are standing for a simple principle: before we modify the weather, we must understand the consequences.

Add your name to demand a precautionary pause, independent environmental review, and real accountability for all weather‑modification activity in the United States.

 

2

The Issue

Across the American West, cloud‑seeding programs have expanded for decades with almost no public awareness, no environmental review, and no modern federal oversight. Aircraft, ground generators, and aerosol systems are modifying winter storms every year, even though the full environmental and atmospheric impacts have never been independently assessed.

We are asking Congress to order an immediate precautionary pause on all non‑essential weather‑modification activity in the United States. This pause should remain in place until independent scientists can evaluate the environmental, hydrological, and atmospheric impacts of cloud seeding. If those assessments show harm, the activity must stop. If they show minimal or manageable impact, operations should only resume under modern, transparent regulation.

Right now, cloud seeding is governed by a 1972 reporting law that does not require environmental review, public disclosure, or federal oversight. States and private contractors can modify shared storm systems without evaluating downstream effects, cumulative impacts, or long‑term ecological risks. No national registry exists. No environmental impact statements are required. No agency tracks the total aerosol load released into the atmosphere.

This is a regulatory gap that would never be allowed in any other environmental domain. When the impacts of a widespread intervention are unknown, the responsible first step is to pause, study, and only continue if it is proven safe.

To protect the public, the environment, and the integrity of shared atmospheric systems, we are calling on Congress to adopt the following non‑negotiable requirements for any future weather‑modification activity.

Regulatory Requirements for Any Future Weather‑Modification Activity

  1. No activity without independent environmental review
    All cloud‑seeding programs must undergo independent environmental and atmospheric impact assessments before any operation resumes.
  2. No activity without full public disclosure
    All methods, chemicals, locations, operators, and funding sources must be publicly disclosed in advance.
  3. No activity without a national public registry
    A real‑time, searchable registry must list all weather‑modification operations, contractors, and target areas.
  4. No activity without interstate governance
    Storm systems cross state lines. Regulation must too. Multi‑state compacts or federal coordination must govern shared basins.
  5. No activity without enforceable penalties
    Violations must carry meaningful civil and criminal penalties. Voluntary reporting is not regulation.
  6. No activity if environmental harm is identified
    If independent assessments show ecological, hydrological, or atmospheric harm, the activity must cease.
  7. No activity without periodic congressional reauthorization
    Weather‑modification programs must be subject to recurring review and cannot expand without explicit congressional approval.
  8. No activity with financial conflicts of interest
    Environmental reviews must be funded through neutral appropriations. Agencies may not accept payment from applicants to expedite Environmental Assessments (EA) or Environmental Impact Statements (EIS).

These are structural protections, not technical details. They ensure that no agency, state, or contractor can modify the atmosphere at scale without transparency, accountability, and scientific review.

The atmosphere is a shared public resource. It does not belong to any single state, agency, or contractor, and it should not be altered at scale without independent science, public transparency, and modern oversight. A precautionary pause is the only responsible first step. From there, any future activity must meet clear, non‑negotiable standards that protect communities, ecosystems, and downstream states.

For too long, weather‑modification programs have expanded quietly, without the environmental review or public accountability required for any other intervention of this scale. That gap exists because Congress has never updated the law. It is time to change that. A pause, a full scientific assessment, and a modern regulatory framework are not radical demands — they are the minimum protections any democratic society should expect.

By signing this petition, you are calling on Congress to act with the urgency this issue deserves. You are asking for transparency where there has been opacity, oversight where there has been neglect, and science where there has been assumption. You are standing for a simple principle: before we modify the weather, we must understand the consequences.

Add your name to demand a precautionary pause, independent environmental review, and real accountability for all weather‑modification activity in the United States.

 

The Decision Makers

Donald Trump
President of the United States

Petition Updates