Senate passes omnibus water bill after clashes over cloud seeding, shooting complex and land exchanges

The Wyoming Senate on Feb. 28, 2025, approved House Bill 117, an omnibus water bill authorizing water projects and related appropriations, after extended debate and a series of amendment votes.

The bill matters because it authorizes construction and design work tied to water projects across the state, contains multiple targeted appropriations, and became a vehicle for contested policy items that senators said were necessary to move forward because other budget vehicles were not available.

Senators spent much of the floor period debating amendments that expanded the bill beyond traditional water-works funding. Senator Jones, who moved several amendments, described one change as permission for a ground-based cloud-seeding effort paid for by external partners and ‘‘no cost to Wyoming’’ until those outside funds were committed. Opponents raised environmental and health questions. Senator Hyde said, "the data on this is is not good at all anywhere. What does it do to our soil? What does it do to…