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Committee advances Clean Air and Geoengineering Prohibition Act after adding DEQ authorities and staffing
Summary
The committee advanced a draft banning intentional atmospheric engineering in Wyoming (26LSO211) after debate and multiple amendments giving the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) authority to investigate and seek court orders, plus a two‑FTE appropriation for implementation. The committee approved the bill, 6-5.
The Agriculture, State & Public Lands & Water Resources Committee advanced 26LSO0211, the "Clean Air and Geoengineering Prohibition Act," after approving amendments that expand enforcement and monitoring authority for the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality and add two full-time positions to implement the measure.
Under the draft presented to the committee, the bill would create a new statute (proposed W.S. 35-11-2204) prohibiting the intentional injection, release or dispersal of atmospheric contaminants into Wyoming’s airspace for the purpose of altering climate, weather, or solar radiation. The draft would also repeal existing weather-modification statutes (W.S. 9-1-1905 through 9-1-1909) and direct DEQ to develop implementing rules.
Representative Tony Locke (House District 35) told the committee he supported the measure as a response to what he described as large-scale geoengineering activity. “This is really the hottest topic,” Locke said during public comment, urging lawmakers to act.
Todd Parfit, director of the Wyoming…
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