Protecting environment and humans from geoengineering and weather modification experiments

ARTICLE 37. PROHIBITION ON GEOENGINEERING AND WEATHER MODIFICATION ACTIVITIES.

Section 22-37-1. Legislative findings.

The Legislature finds that:

(1) Atmospheric polluting activities involving the intentional release of 
polluting emissions, including weather modification, stratospheric aerosol 
injection, solar radiation modification, and other forms of geoengineering:

(A) Endanger human health and safety and the environment;

(B) Threaten air, water, soil, and wildlife resources;

(C) Disrupt agricultural operations; and

(D) Potentially interfere with aviation, state security, and the economy of 
the state;

(2) Pursuant to the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States 
and the inherent right for West Virginia citizens to engage in thoughtful 
deliberation and determine public policy by voting, the citizens of the state 
do not consent to any unconstitutional actions or efforts made by the federal 
government or international bodies that intentionally release polluting 
emissions into the state's atmosphere, through geoengineering, cloud seeding, 
weather modification, or any other means; and

(3) To preserve the safe and healthful uses of the state's atmosphere for its 
people, environment, and agriculture, and to improve beneficial climate efforts, 
it is necessary to prohibit geoengineering and to provide for enforcement and 
penalties for violative activities.

Section 22-37-2. Definitions.

As used in this article:

"Aerosol injection" means the release of reflective sulfate or other aerosol 
particles in the stratosphere by high altitude planes, tethered balloons, high 
altitude blimps, artillery, or other means;

"Artificial intelligence" or "AI" means systems or machines that mimic human 
intelligence to perform tasks and that can iteratively improve themselves based 
on the information they collect;

"Atmospheric contaminant" means any type of aerosol, biological, nonbiological, 
or hazardous agent, chaff, genetically modified agent, metal, radioactive 
material, vapor, electromagnetic radiation or field, mechanical vibration, 
particulate of any size, or any air pollutant regulated by the state, and any 
combination thereof.

"Atmospheric contaminant" does not include any engine exhaust from an aircraft 
using unadulterated certified aviation fuel;

"Atmospheric polluting activity" means any deliberate release of an atmospheric 
contaminant by any human, or by artificial intelligence, or any combination 
thereof, that occurs in the atmosphere and that may have harmful consequences 
on human health, the environment, or agriculture;

"Chaff" means aluminum-coated silica glass fibers, typically dispersed in 
bundles containing millions of inhalable fibers, which break apart and fall to 
the ground;

"Cloud seeding" means a type of weather modification that involves the 
deliberate introduction of various substances into a cloud in order to induce 
or increase precipitation from the cloud;

"Commissioner" means the commissioner of the Department for Environmental 
Protection;

"Department" means the Department for Environmental Protection;

"Entity" means any individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, corporation, 
quasi-governmental corporation, nongovernmental organization, partnership, 
association, syndicate, club, college, university, any agency, subdivision, or 
instrumentality of federal, state, or local government, or any interstate or 
international governance body;

"Geoengineering and weather modification" means, the intentional manipulation 
of the environment by the injection, release, or dispersion, or other means of 
a chemical, a chemical compound, a substance, or an apparatus into the 
atmosphere within the borders of this state for the express purpose of 
affecting the temperature, weather, climate, or intensity of sunlight, and 
includes the intentional manipulation of the environment, by any means, of 
through an atmospheric polluting activity, to effect changes to the earth's 
atmosphere or surface, including but not limited to the practices of weather 
modification, aerosol injection, and cloud seeding;

"Hazardous" means a substance or physical agent that by its nature is harmful 
to living organisms, property, or any other valuable interest;

"Individual" means a natural person;

"Maser" means a device using the stimulated emission of radiation by excited 
atoms to amplify or generate radiation in the microwave range;

"Person" means an individual, business association, financial organization, 
estate, trust, government, governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, 
or any other legal or commercial entity.

"Physical agent" means a source of energy that may cause injury through 
excessive exposure, including but not limited to radiofrequency, microwave, and 
other electromagnetic radiation and fields, barometric pressure, temperature, 
gravity, mechanical vibration, and sound;

"Release" means any activity that results in the issuance of atmospheric 
contaminants such as the emitting, transmitting, discharging, or injecting of 
one or more nuclear, biological, chemical, or physical agents into the ambient 
atmosphere, whether once, intermittently, or continuously;

"Solar radiation modification" means any attempt to reduce global temperatures 
by reflecting more sunlight into space or allowing more infrared radiation from 
earth to escape than would naturally occur; and

"Weather modification" means the changing, controlling, or interfering with or 
attempting to change, control, or interfere with the natural development of 
cloud forms, precipitation, barometric pressure, temperature, conductivity or 
other electromagnetic or sonic characteristics of the atmosphere.

Section 22-37-3. Prohibitions on geoengineering or weather modification 
activities.

(a) No entity may engage in any form of geoengineering or weather modification 
activities within or over the state of West Virginia. The commissioner shall 
investigate any credible reports of geoengineering occurring in the state 
received under this article, and shall issue an order to any entity that he or 
she finds is engaging in geoengineering to immediately cease all geoengineering 
activities. Upon issuing the order, the commissioner shall pursue the imposition 
of all penalties for engaging in geoengineering authorized under this article 
and the administrative regulations promulgated hereunder.

(b) If any activity that the department has deemed to be geoengineering has 
been approved, explicitly or implicitly, by the federal government, the 
department shall issue a notice to the appropriate federal agency that the 
geoengineering activity cannot lawfully be carried out within or over the state.

(c) If the department finds that a foreign state or international body funds, 
in part or in whole, or engages in any geoengineering activity, the department 
shall prohibit it from engaging in any atmospheric activities in or above the 
state. The department shall also provide notice to the foreign state or 
international body that the geoengineering activity cannot lawfully be carried 
out within or over the state.

(d) The department shall publish quarterly notices in newspapers of general 
circulation and shall post notices on the department's website, to encourage 
the public to monitor, measure, document, and report present, potential, and 
past incidents that may constitute geoengineering activities. An individual who 
wishes to present evidence of geoengineering may email or otherwise send to the 
commissioner any of the following:

(1) Evidentiary photographs, each separately titled as an electronic or hard 
copy document, with the respective location and direction from which the 
photograph was taken, with its time and date; and

(2) Any other collected samples of video or audio recordings, lab tests, 
microscopy, spectrometry, metering, and other forms of evidence that the 
individual may have.

(e) Any local or state official who has received information that causes him 
or her to suspect geoengineering activity is occurring shall report that 
information to the commissioner within 24 hours of receiving it.

(f) The department shall investigate reports of excessive electromagnetic 
radiation or fields caused by human activity in any part of the spectrum, 
including but not limited to radiofrequency, microwave, maser, infrared, laser, 
and ionizing radiation to ensure that they are not the result of violations of 
the requirements of this article or the administrative regulations promulgated 
hereunder.

Section 22-37-4. Penalties.

(a) Any person who violates the provisions of this article, or who fails to 
perform any duties imposed by this article, or who violates any determination, 
permit, administrative regulation, or order of the cabinet promulgated pursuant 
thereto shall be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed the sum of $25,000 
for each day during which such violation continues, and in addition, may be 
concurrently enjoined from any violations as hereinafter provided in this 
article, or any provision of this article relating to noise, or who fails to 
perform any determination, permit, administrative regulation, or order of the 
cabinet promulgated pursuant thereto shall be liable for a civil penalty not 
to exceed the sum of $5,000 for said violation and an additional civil penalty 
not to exceed $5,000 for each day during which such violation continues, and 
in addition, may be concurrently enjoined from any violations as hereinafter 
provided in this article.

(b) Any person who knowingly violates this article or who knowingly provides 
false information in any document filed or required to be maintained under this 
article, or who knowingly renders inaccurate any monitoring device or method, 
or who tampers with a water supply, water purification plant, or water 
distribution system so as to knowingly endanger human life, shall be guilty of 
a felony, and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not to 
exceed $25,000, or by imprisonment for a term of not less than one year and 
not more than five years, or by both fine and imprisonment, for each separate 
violation. Each day upon which a violation occurs shall constitute a separate 
violation.

(1) If any person engages in generation, treatment, storage, transportation, 
or disposal of hazardous waste in violation of the hazardous waste management 
provisions of this article or contrary to a permit, order, or rule issued or 
promulgated under this article, or fails to provide information or to meet 
reporting requirements required by terms and conditions of a permit or 
administrative regulations promulgated pursuant to this article, the secretary 
may issue an order requiring compliance within a specified time period or may 
commence a civil action in a court of appropriate jurisdiction. The violator 
shall be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed the sum of $25,000 for each 
day during which the violation continues, and in addition, may be enjoined from 
any violations in a court of appropriate jurisdiction.

(2) Any person who knowingly is engaged in generation, treatment, storage, 
transportation, or disposal of hazardous waste in violation of this article or 
contrary to a permit, order, or administrative regulation issued or promulgated 
under this article, or knowingly makes a false statement, representation, or 
certification in an application for or form pertaining to a permit or in a 
notice or report required by the terms and conditions of an issued permit, 
shall be guilty of a felony, and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by 
a fine not to exceed $25,000 for each day of violation, or by imprisonment for 
a term of not less than one year and not more than five years, or by both fine 
and imprisonment, for each separate violation. Each day upon which a violation 
occurs shall constitute a separate violation.

(3) Nothing contained in this section shall abridge the right of any person to 
recover actual compensatory damages resulting from any violation.

(4) Any person who violates any provision of this article to which no express 
penalty provision applies, except as provided in this article, or who fails to 
perform any duties imposed by this article, or who violates any determination 
or order of the cabinet promulgated pursuant thereto shall be liable for a 
civil penalty not to exceed the sum of $1,000 for said violation and an 
additional civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 for each day during which the 
violation continues, and in addition, may be concurrently enjoined from any 
violations as hereinafter provided in this article.

(5) The Circuit Court of Kanawha County shall hold concurrent jurisdiction and 
venue of all civil and injunctive actions instituted by the Attorney General on 
behalf of the state for the enforcement of the provisions of this article or 
the orders and administrative regulations of the cabinet promulgated pursuant 
thereto, except for any criminal actions arising from or related to this 
article.

(6) In addition to any other penalties that may apply, any person who knowingly 
engages in geoengineering activities in violation of this article shall be 
guilty of a felony, and shall also be liable for a civil penalty of not less 
than $500,000. Each day that a person knowingly engages in geoengineering 
activities shall constitute a separate offense.