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Bill to ban geoengineering draws wide public comment; opponents warn it would restrict cloud‑seeding tools
Summary
SB 473—a proposed ban on geoengineering and stratospheric aerosol injection—drew dozens of public proponents alleging harmful aerosol spraying, while water‑resource groups, ski areas and DNRC witnesses warned the bill risks constraining cloud‑seeding programs used to augment snowpack and water supplies. Committee discussed an amendment exempting agricultural uses and closed the hearing without a vote.
Sen. Bob Phelan opened the committee hearing on SB 473 by invoking the state's duty to maintain a "clean and healthful environment," and described concerns about large‑scale geoengineering (stratospheric aerosol injection) and alleged fallout from aircraft dispersal. "This bill is not about cloud seeding," Phelan said in closing, and the sponsor presented an amendment that would exempt agricultural activity.
The committee heard an extended panel of public testimony. Proponents, many of them private citizens, described observations of persistent grid‑like aircraft trails they identified as chemtrails or stratospheric aerosol injection and reported personal or ecological health…
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