Prohibits the intentional release or dispersion, by burning of fuel, of chemicals into the environment of this state with the express purpose of affecting temperature. (8/1/26)

SB 189 makes a single, narrow amendment to the atmospheric modification prohibition that Louisiana enacted just last year through Act 95 of 2025 (SB 46, also by Senator Fesi). That 2025 law already prohibits the intentional injection, release, application, or dispersal of chemicals, compounds, substances, or apparatus into the atmosphere for the purpose of affecting temperature, weather, climate, or sunlight intensity.

The sole change in SB 189 is the addition of the phrase "including by the burning of fuel in an aircraft engine" to the list of prohibited methods of dispersal. The existing prohibition already uses the broad phrase "by any means," but SB 189 adds this explicit reference to aircraft engine combustion as a named example.

No new penalties are created. No new enforcement mechanisms are added. The bill does not address the separate reporting provisions in the existing law (subparagraph (b)), which require the Department of Environmental Quality to collect and publish public reports of suspected prohibited activity.

The existing exemptions for fire retardant and fire suppressant activities under one thousand feet above ground level, and for aerial application of seeds, fertilizers, or pesticides for agriculture or forestry under one thousand feet, remain unchanged.

Notable observations: By explicitly naming aircraft fuel combustion as a covered method, the bill appears designed to close a perceived interpretive gap, making clear that the products of normal jet fuel combustion fall within the statute's reach when the purpose is atmospheric modification. This is significant because the existing "by any means" language was arguably already broad enough to cover fuel combustion, suggesting this amendment serves more as a declaratory or political statement than a substantive legal expansion. The bill does not create any mechanism for distinguishing between ordinary commercial aviation and flights conducted with the express purpose of atmospheric modification.

SB 189 was prefiled on February 26, 2026, and provisionally referred to the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality under the chamber's prefiling rules. Louisiana's 2026 regular session does not officially convene until March 9, 2026, and is scheduled to adjourn by June 1, 2026. Prefiling allows bills to be submitted and assigned to committees before the session formally opens, giving committees time to begin review once the session starts.

This is Senator Fesi's second consecutive session sponsoring atmospheric modification legislation. His SB 46 in the 2025 session created the underlying prohibition now being amended, passing the Senate 27-12 on a party-line vote and the House 58-33 after amendments. That bill was signed by Governor Landry as Act 95 of 2025, effective August 1, 2025. The 2025 law also repealed Louisiana's prior weather modification licensing framework (R.S. 37:2201-2208) and created a public reporting system administered by the Department of Environmental Quality, which has since received over 400 reports from residents.