[S. 2058, 90th Cong., second sess.]

A BILL To provide a practicable weather modification program for the Upper Colorado River Basin

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "Upper Colorado River Basin Weather Modification Act".

SEC. 2. It is recognized that the present and growing water shortage in the Colorado River Basin has created serious problems of national concern. Congress recognizes that there is an urgent need to find new sources of water for the Colorado River Basin to support the rapid increase in population, agricultural production, and industrial development which is being and which will be experienced in the basin. It is also recognized that the Colorado River Basin States consisting of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and California, rely to a significant degree upon the Colorado River for their water supply and that such States contribute significantly and materially to the commerce of the United States and to the welfare of its citizens. It is, therefore, the public policy of the United States to assist the basin in alleviating its water shortage by devising methods to augment the supply of water in the Colorado River Basin and it is the purpose of this Act to increase the supply of water in the Colorado River through weather modification programs conducted in the Upper Colorado River Basin in furtherance of that policy.

SEC. 3. (a) The President shall within ninety days of enactment of this Act, appoint a Coordinating Council on Weather Modification for the Upper Colorado River Basin (here referred to as the "Coordinating Council") consisting of the Secretary of the Interior or his designee, the Secretary of Commerce or his designee, the Director of the National Science Foundation or his designee, and four public members appointed without regard to the civil service laws by the President. Two of such public members shall be persons connected within institutions of higher education and who are knowledgeable in the field of atmospheric research, and two of such public members shall be persons connected with private concerns experienced in the practical application of weather modification techniques. The Coordinating Council shall elect a Chairman from among its members and shall meet at the call of the Chairman but not less often than four times per year.

(b) The Coordinating Council shall consult and confer with the Secretary of the Interior concerning the preparation and implementation of a plan for the practical application of weather modification techniques in the Upper Colorado River Basin.

(c) The Coordinating Council shall consult and confer with the Secretary of the Interior or his designee with respect to policy matters arising in the administration of this Act and with respect to the coordination of weather modification research and programs conducted under this Act.

(d) The Coordinating Council may make interim reports to the President of its recommendations on the programs instituted hereunder and shall make annual reports, commencing one year from the date of enactment of this Act. of its findings and recommendations to the President. The President shall transmit each report to the Congress, together with his comments and recommendations.

(e) Members of the Coordinating Council who are not regular full-time employees of the United States shall, while serving on the business of the Council, be entitled to receive compensation at the rate of $100 per day, including traveltime; and, while so serving away from their homes or regular places of business, members may be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence as authorized by section 5703 of title 5, United States Code, for persons in the Government service employed intermittently.

(f) In carrying out its functions pursuant to this section, the Coordinating Council may utilize the services and facilities of any agency of the Federal Government in accordance with agreements with the head of such agency and may engage such technical assistance as may be needed to carry out its functions and as may be approved from time to time by the Secretary of the Interior.

SEC. 4. The Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter referred to as the "Secretary") shall carry out weather modification programs designed to increase to the extent practicable the annual average supply of water from rainfall and snowfall in the Upper Colorado River Basin of the United States; and shall authorize research and study programs by contract or grant with institutions of higher education to determine the effectiveness of such programs, the development of

new and improved techniques and mechanics in the operation of the programs, the effect on the ecology of the area, and such other matters as may be pertinent to the operations hereunder.

SEC. 5. (a) In order to carry out the provisions of this Act, the Secretary shall

(1) within six months after enactment of this Act, and in consultation with the Coordinating Council, prepare a plan for the practical application of weather modification techniques in the Upper Colorado River Basin, which may include new and innovative as well as existing weather modification techniques;

(2) contract with institutions of higher education and business concerns, skilled and experienced in weather modification, weather modification operational activities in accordance with the plan developed pursuant to the preceding clause of this subsection; and

(3) conduct by grant, contract, or other agreement with institutions of higher education, skilled and experienced in weather modification, and atmospheric research, such research studies as he determines appropriate to evaluate the practicability and efficacy of the program authorized by this Act.

(b) In the performance of the duties spscified in subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary is authorized to—

(1) accept gifts and bequests, including gifts or bequests restricted or limited by the donor for use in connection with certain projects or areas; (2) acquire by purchase, license, lease, or donation such inventions, patents, patent applications, licenses, real property and interests therein as he deems necessary;

(3) utilize the property, equipment, and personnel of other agencies of the Federal Government, with the approval of the head of such agency, and pay for such property, equipment, and personnel out of funds made available pursuant to this Act, either in advance, by reimbursement, or by direct transfer; and

(4) consult with appropriate representatives of the Environmental Science Services Administration and of the National Science Foundation, and such representatives are authorized and directed to furnish such assistance as the Secretary may reasonably require.

SEC. 6. As used in this Act

(a) The term "weather modification" includes any artifically produced changes in the composition, behavior, or dynamics of the atmosphere.

(b) The term "Upper Colorado River Basin" means that area of the United States consisting of the following States: Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.

SEC. 7. (a) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the provisions of this Act $3,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1968, and for each of the two succeeding fiscal years. It is the intent of Congress that the Secretary in carrying out the provisions hereunder shall expend funds authorized hereunder in the approximate ratio of $2 for research for each $1 expended on operational techniques.

COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES,
Washington, D.C., September 5, 1967.

Hon. WARREN G. MAGNUSON,
Chairman, Committee on Commerce,
U.S. Senate.

Dear Mr. CHAIRMAN: By letter of August 3, 1967, you requested our comment on S. 2058, 90th Congress, entitled: “A BILL To provide a practicable weather modification program for the Upper Colorado River Basin.”

While we have no special information as to the desirability of this measure and, therefore, make no comments regarding its merits, we do recommend the inclusion of a new section in the bill pertaining to the audit of the program. Section 4 and subsection 5(a) authorize the Secretary to enter into grants, contracts or other agreements. There is no requirement for the maintenance of accounting records by the recipients of assistance through grant, contract or other agreement. Furthermore, there is no provision to make the records of the recipients of assistance available to the Comptroller General of the United States or his duly authorized representatives for the purpose of audit and ex

amination. We recommend that the bill be revised to include language similar to the following:

"(a) Each recipient of assistance under this Act pursuant to grant, contract or other agreement, entered into under other than competitive bidding procedures shall keep such records as the Secretary shall prescribe, including records which fully disclose the amount and disposition by such recipient of the proceeds of such assistance, the total cost of the project or undertaking in connection with which such assistance is given or used, and the amount of that portion of the cost of the project or undertaking supplied by other sources, and such other records as will facilitate an effective audit.

"(b) The Secretary and the Comptroller General of the United States, or any of their duly authorized representatives, shall have access for the purpose of audit and examination to any books, documents, papers and records of the recip ients that are pertinent to the grants, contracts or other agreements entered into under this Act under other than competitive bidding procedures." Similar provisions are contained in various acts such as section 11 of the "Clean Air Act." Pub. L. 88-206, 77 Stat. 401, and section 8(a) of Pub. L. 89-220, 79 Stat. 894.

Sincerely yours,

R. F. KELLER, Acting Comptroller General of the United States.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Washington, D.C., June 11, 1968.

Hon. WARREN G. MAGNUSON,

Chairman, Committee on Commerce, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This responds to your request for the views of this Department on S. 2058, a bill "To provide a practicable weather modification program for the Upper Colorado River Basin."

We recommend that the bill not be enacted, for the reasons stated herein. The bill recognizes the national concern over the water supply in the Colorado River Basin as it relates to the economy of the seven-State area and states that it is the public policy of the United States to assist in alleviating water shortages in the basin by devising methods to augment its water supply. The stated purpose of the bill is to increase the supply of water by weather modification programs in the Upper Basin in furtherance of this policy. The bill would direct the President to appoint a coordinating council consisting of the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce, the Director of the National Science Foundation, and four public members, two of whom shall be within institutions of higher education having knowledge in the field of atmospheric research and the other two connected with private firms experienced in the practical application of weather modification techniques. The council would consult and confer with the Secretary of the Interior concerning the preparation and implementation of a plan for practical application of weather modification techniques in the Upper Colorado River Basin. The council would also consult and confer with the Secretary regarding policy matters arising in the administration of the weather modification program. The council would make annual as well as interim reports to the President on its recommendations and findings of the program. The Secretary of the Interior would be charged with the responsibility of conducting the weather modification programs called for in the bill.

The Secretary, in consultation with the council, would be required to prepare within 6 months a plan for the practical application of weather modification programs in the Upper Colorado River Basin. The plan would be carried out by contract with universities and private concerns. The bill would authorize an annual appropriation of $3 million and would express the intent of Congress that for every $2 spent on research $1 would be expended on operational techniques.

Present and planned programs of the Department, conducted under existing authority, will lead to achievement of the objectives of S. 2058. Passage of the bill, therefore, is unnecessary. Also, added authority to meet the underlying water shortage problem would be granted by section 201 (a) of the House-passed version of S. 1004, the Colorado River Basin project bill, which directs the Secretary to "investigate and recommend sources and means of supplying water

to meet the current and anticipated water requirements of the Colorado River Basin, directly or by exchange, including... weather modification. . . ."

Under the authority of general reclamation laws, the Bureau of Reclamation, of this Department, presently is conducting an expanded program of investigation and applied research into methods of augmenting water supplies through induced precipitation at a number of locations. A regional program of operational weather modification activities with accompanying research studies is outlined in the departmental report of November 1966, "Plan to Develop Technology for Increasing Water Yield from Atmospheric Sources." We firmly believe a well planned and executed comprehensive research program can develop regional operational weather modification techniques capable of producing an average of some 2 million acre-feet annually in the Upper Basin. An operational research program in this area is already included in our current planning and budgeting. In fact, research of this type is currently being conducted under the Park Range Atmospheric Water Research Program at Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

During fiscal year 1967, "Project Skywater", as our weather modification program is now called, entailed expenditure of $3.75 million. The 1968 program is budgeted at $4.6 million and the proposed program for fiscal year 1969 would entail expenditures of $5.5 million to continue the work. Approximately 90 percent of this program is conducted under research contracts, principally in 10 Western States. Continued full support of our expanded program budget by the Congress will result in a program for the Colorado River Basin under existing law of the same general type as proposed in the bill.

S. 2058, although praiseworthy in objective, would unduly restrict the conduct of our ongoing weather modification program in terms of phasing and orderly development, expenditure of funds, and geographical area, as explained in the following paragraphs.

We envision the following five-phase comprehensive research project to develop a practical precipitation modification technology for the area:

1. Operational cloud seeding-Carefully controlled seeding under welldefined criteria over a number of test areas selected to be representative of the basin.

2. Evaluation-Providing a sufficient data collection and analysis system to assess the additional precipitation and runoff obtained.

3. Environmental studies-A series of general studies including investigations to determine effect on ecology, use and value of the water produced, water law involved, projected benefits and costs of expanded regular operations, economic and other social effects.

4. Comprehension of results-A research effort to determine and understand more precisely the basic meteorological conditions present when additional precipitation occurs.

5. Improvement of techniques-An accompanying research effort to fieldtest new equipment and techniques for finding better means of modifying precipitation in the Basin.

S. 2058 emphasizes only the first two elements, cloud seeding and evaluation. A comprehensive program is vital to the success of any such large weather modification undertaking in the Upper Colorado River Basin. Therefore stress should be placed on developing and perfecting a workable system, rather than on operational application, with incidental evaluation and research as the bill proposes.

To obtain meaningful results, operational cloud seeding should be conducted for at least 5 years. Our preliminary planning calls for a project effort lasting a minimum of 7 to 8 years, including planning, system installation, operations, studies, and evaluation. The cost for such a comprehensive project would be an estimated $15 million to be expended on a staggered schedule over a 5-year period. The bill, on the other hand, proposes a 3-year program at an authorized annual level of $3 million. The bill further restricts expenditure of funds to the appropriate ratio of $2 for research for each $1 expended in operational techniques. It would appear to be unduly restrictive from a scientific and engineering viewpoint to incorporate this type of fixed and arbitrary ratio into basic authorizing legislation for a rapidly-changing research, development and implementation program.

The shortage of water in the Colorado River Basin area is a well-recognized and serious problem. The solution, however, lies not in limitation of weather modification programs to that region as the bill proposes but in a westwide and. potentially, national or international approach, in keeping with the nature of

the atmospheric environment which we seek to modify. As stated above, our general approach to weather modification in the Colorado River Basin area coincides with the objectives of the bill. It would set an undesirable precedent, however, to authorize weather modification programs on a regional basis similar to that used for reclamation projects, when the atmospheric environment to be modified is not so limited.

The Bureau of the Budget has advised that there is no objection to the presentation of this report from the standpoint of the Administration's program. Sincerely yours,

KENNETH HOLUM, Assistant Secretary of the Interior.

Senator CANNON. Witnesses at these hearings will no doubt provide much further illumination on this important subject. This Denver area and its environs are particularly appropriate for these initial hearings. Denver is the headquarters of the Bureau of Reclamation and has the Office of Atmospheric Water Resources, the director of which will be a witness here today. The research laboratories of ESSA of the Department of Commerce are in Boulder, and an ESSA representative will testify. And we will have testimony also from several prominent non-Government weather specialists and engineers of high professional standing in their field. This will be a hearing that I believe will be most useful for the committee, and I have the honor and privilege at this time of introducing Hon. Peter Dominick, Senator from Colorado, as the first witness. Senator Dominick.

STATEMENT OF HON. PETER H. DOMINICK, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF COLORADO

Senator DOMINICK. Thank you, Senator Cannon.

I know of the tremendous work you have done in this field and I just want to associate myself with some of the remarks that you have made; in fact, most of them. Of course, obviously, as a Senator from Colorado, I want to extend a particular welcome to you as the presiding member of the committee. I hope you will come back often, and I hope we get some action on this weather modification as soon as possible. As you so aptly said, we have an outstanding forum for these hearings. Of course, we in Colorado have an outstanding worldwide reputation as a technological center for weather modification. The research and development activities here are diverse and encompass Federal, State, private, and university programs.

So I appreciate the opportunity to appear today to testify in support of both S. 373 and S. 2058. As a cosponsor of S. 373, as the author of S. 2058, and as one who has been interested and active in weather modification since the early 1950's, I want to assure you of my continued cooperation and support in developing and hopefully enacting significant legislation in the area of weather modification.

My statement today will be brief as I know we are operating under a limited-time situation and I feel it is more important to hear witnesses with technical expertise and support for this legislation. Legislation similar to S. 373 is, in my judgment, mandatory; legislation similar to that contained in S. 2058 is highly desirable.

Let me first address myself briefly to S. 373.

Clearly the time has arrived when a coordinated effort should be brought to bear on the significant problems which weather modification can alleviate.