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LEGISLATURE
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IDAHO
Sixty-eighth
Legislature
Second
Regular
Session
-
2026
IN
THE
HOUSE
OF
REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE
BILL
NO.
977
BY
HOSTETLER
AN
ACT
1
RELATING
TO
CLOUD
SEEDING;
AMENDING
SECTION
42
-
4301,
IDAHO
CODE,
TO
REVISE
2
PROVISIONS
REGARDING
CLOUD
SEEDING;
AND
DECLARING
AN
EMERGENCY
AND
PRO
-
3
VIDING
AN
EFFECTIVE
DATE.
4
Be
It
Enacted
by
the
Legislature
of
the
State
of
Idaho:
5
SECTION
1.
That
Section
42
-
4301,
Idaho
Code,
be,
and
the
same
is
hereby
6
amended
to
read
as
follows:
7
42
-
4301.
CLOUD
SEEDING.
(1)
The
legislature
finds
that:
8
(a)
Idaho's
economy
and
the
welfare
of
its
citizens
depend
upon
a
re
-
9
liable
and
sustainable
water
supply.
It
is
essential,
therefore,
that
10
the
state
continues
to
identify,
develop,
and
implement
projects
that
1
1
augment
and
sustain
the
state's
water
resources
are
hereby
declared
to
12
be
a
public
use
subject
to
the
regulation
and
control
of
the
state
in
the
13
manner
prescribed
by
law
.
14
(b)
The
cloud
seeding
program
developed
and
implemented
by
the
Idaho
15
water
resource
board,
in
cooperation
with
interested
stakeholders,
16
presents
a
unique
and
innovative
opportunity
to
augment
and
sustain
the
17
water
resources
of
the
state
has
insufficiently
proven
to
be
a
sound
18
investment
of
state
resources
.
19
(c)
Augmenting
water
supplies
through
cloud
seeding
is
in
the
public
20
interest.
Public
benefits
of
cloud
seeding
include
drought
mitigation,
21
protection
of
water
rights,
protection
of
municipal
and
business
ac
-
22
tivities
dependent
on
water,
water
quality,
recreation,
and
fish
and
23
wildlife.
While
augmenting
water
supplies
is
in
the
public
interest,
24
insufficient
data
exists
to
establish
the
effectiveness
or
safety
of
25
cloud
seeding
to
augment
water
supplies.
26
(d)
Data
accumulated
and
analysis
undertaken
since
the
initiation
of
27
the
cloud
seeding
program
demonstrates
that
cloud
seeding
has
not
reli
-
28
ably
resulted
in
an
annual
increase
in
the
water
supplies
in
the
basins
29
in
which
cloud
seeding
has
been
performed.
However,
additional
re
-
30
search
and
analysis
is
necessary
to
determine
the
precise
nature
and
ex
-
31
tent
of
those
increases.
The
legislature
recommends
that
such
research
32
be
continued
as
the
cloud
seeding
program
progresses
and
that
annual
re
-
33
ports
on
such
research
be
provided
to
the
legislature.
According
to
the
34
2024
government
accountability
office
report
on
cloud
seeding
technol
-
35
ogy
that
assessed
its
effectiveness,
"when
uncertainty
was
considered
36
in
estimates
of
cloud
seeding
effectiveness,
the
estimated
effect
was
37
not
distinguishable
from
zero
with
a
high
degree
of
statistical
confi
-
38
dence
(e.g.,
with
95
percent
confidence)."
39
(e)
The
legislature
shall
reevaluate
the
cloud
seeding
program
and
may
40
suspend
or
authorize
future
cloud
seeding
projects
or
programs
after
41
receiving
an
independent,
third
-
party
report,
which
includes
an
en
-
42
2
vironmental
impact
assessment,
that
indicates
the
project
or
program
1
should
not
continue
or
be
allowed
to
commence.
2
(e)
(f)
The
legislature
recognizes
that
expansion
of
the
cloud
seeding
3
program
may
benefit
basins
throughout
the
state
that
experience
de
-
4
pleted
or
insufficient
water
supplies,
and
the
legislature
recommends
5
requires
that
the
water
resource
board
complete
an
assessment
of
basins
6
and
work
with
affected
stakeholders
to
implement
the
propose
a
cloud
7
seeding
program
in
basins
that
would
benefit
from
the
program
,
for
ap
-
8
proval
by
the
legislature
.
9
(2)
As
used
in
this
chapter,
"cloud
seeding"
means
all
acts
undertaken
10
to
artificially
distribute
or
create
nuclei
in
cloud
masses
for
the
purposes
1
1
of
inducing
precipitation,
cloud
forms,
or
other
meteorological
parameters
.
12
Cloud
seeding
for
the
suppression
of
fog
and
frost
prevention
measures
for
13
the
protection
of
orchards
and
crops
are
excluded
from
the
coverage
of
this
14
chapter
,
including
for
suppression
measures
and
frost
prevention
measures
.
15
(3)
The
water
resource
board
shall
authorize,
and
may
sponsor
or
de
-
16
velop,
local
or
statewide
cloud
seeding
programs
and
A
cloud
seeding
pro
-
17
gram
or
project
shall
not
be
implemented
without
first
receiving
legislative
18
approval.
The
legislature
may
contract
any
individual
or
organization
for
19
consultation
and
assistance
in
developing
cloud
seeding
programs
or
in
fur
-
20
thering
research
related
to
cloud
seeding
experimentation
.
21
(4)
State
funds
may
shall
not
be
used
or
expended
on
cloud
seeding
pro
-
22
grams
only
in
basins
where
the
water
resource
board
finds
that
existing
water
23
supplies
are
not
sufficient
to
support
existing
water
rights,
water
quality,
24
recreation,
or
fish
and
wildlife
uses
dependent
on
those
water
supplies
.
25
(5)
Water
generated
through
cloud
seeding
shall
be
distributed
in
ac
-
26
cordance
with
the
prior
appropriation
doctrine.
27
(5)
(6)
The
act
of
cloud
seeding
pursuant
to
a
project
funded
in
whole
or
28
in
part
by
the
state
of
Idaho
or
authorized
by
the
state
water
resource
board
29
shall
not
legislature
may
be
the
basis
of
any
claim
of
liability,
including
30
but
not
limited
to
trespass
or
public
or
private
nuisance
,
and
shall
not
re
-
31
quire
any
state
or
local
permits
.
32
(7)
An
individual
who
authorizes
or
engages
in
cloud
seeding
without
33
legislative
approval
is
guilty
of
a
felony
and
shall
be
subject
to
imprison
-
34
ment
for
up
to
one
(1)
year
or
a
fine
of
not
more
than
fifty
thousand
dollars
35
($50,000),
or
both.
36
SECTION
2.
An
emergency
existing
therefor,
which
emergency
is
hereby
37
declared
to
exist,
this
act
shall
be
in
full
force
and
effect
on
and
after
38
July
1,
2026.
39