http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText22/HouseText22/H7787.pdf



2022 -- H 7787
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LC004842
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S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022
____________
A N A C T
RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- THE CLEAN ATMOSPHERE ACT
Introduced By: Representatives Quattrocchi, Price, Nardone, Roberts, and Bennett
Date Introduced: March 03, 2022
Referred To: House Environment and Natural Resources
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. TITLE 23 of the General Laws entitled "HEALTH AND SAFETY" is hereby1
amended by adding thereto the following chapter:2
CHAPTER 23.83
THE CLEAN ATMOSPHERE ACT4
23-23.8-1. Short title.5
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as "The Clean Atmosphere Act".6
23-23.8-2. Legislative intent.7
(a) It is the legislative intent to preserve the safe, peaceful use of Rhode Island's atmosphere8
for people, the environment, and agriculture, and to expand upon climate efforts, by regulating9
weather modification and other large-scale, atmospheric activities and prohibiting those which are10
harmful.11
(b) The general assembly finds that many atmospheric activities harm human health and12
safety, the environment, agriculture, aviation, security, and the economy of the State of Rhode13
Island. It is, therefore, the intention of this legislature to regulate hazardous atmospheric activities14
as further set forth by the terms and provisions of this chapter.15
23-23.8-3. Findings of fact.16
(a) Background: earthly life, or "bios", is a system that can be impaired and broken by17
perturbations such as human activities that are xenobiotic, i.e., foreign to life. The extant damage18
from pollutants and other harmful human activities is incalculable, and the state of earth's biotic19
LC004842 - Page 2 of 24
system is widely reported as catastrophic and in urgent need of protective action.1
(b) Scope: Inclusive of solar radiation management (SRM), carbon dioxide removal2
(CDR), and other techniques, hazardous emissions activities are diverse, varying greatly in their3
characteristics and consequences. Included herein are anthropogenic atmospheric activities, and4
may involve ground-based, underwater, and atmosphere-based activities, including, without5
limitation, aerosol injection, cloud-seeding and other deployments by facilities such as aircraft,6
rockets, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and drones of all sizes down to large pico balloons,7
wireless infrastructures, ships and submarines.8
(c) Scope of regulatory authority: All atmospheric activities require state licensing.9
(d) SRM activities include, without limitation, aerosol injection such as:10
(1) Solar shields or atmospheric sunscreens where reflective materials are injected into the11
stratosphere with the intention of increasing albedo. These include, without limitation, sulfur12
dioxide (SO2), sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and aluminum oxide (Al2O3);13
(i) SO2 and H2SO4: Sulphate releases produce toxic sulfate clouds. According to the14
journal Geophysical Research Letters, SO2 injected into the atmosphere slowly converts to H2SO415
to produce the adverse effects of ozone layer reduction and radiative forcing or heating of the lower16
stratosphere through reflection and absorption of terrestrial heat. The U.S. Clean Air Act (4217
U.S.C. § 7401 et seq. (1970)) is focused on reducing SO2 and H2SO4, the primary components of18
acid rain. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), SO2 penetrates deeply19
into sensitive parts of the lungs, causing susceptibility to pathogens, and harms the environment.20
(ii) Al2O3: According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), Al2O3 causes21
respiratory tract, eye, and skin irritation as well as organ damage and bone abnormalities,22
particularly with repeated or prolonged exposure; and it may be neurotoxic if absorbed into the23
brain. The U.S. Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) § 313 requires24
anyone manufacturing, processing, or using Al2O3 to report this activity to EPA. Any aircraft25
containing a hazardous substance is considered by the U.S. Comprehensive Environmental26
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) § 103, and by EPCRA § 304, a "facility"27
required to report any release into the environment. Whether users deploying substances into the28
atmosphere do presently comply is unlikely. Typically, stratospheric releases of sulfuric and29
aluminum oxide particulates fall into the troposphere, blocking sunlight from reaching earth's30
surface, after which they rain down as acidic pollution, harming terrestrial and aquatic life. Acidic31
precipitation further mobilizes aluminum from both natural sources and direct, anthropogenic32
atmospheric releases and industrial processes. Acidification mobilizes aluminum from land into33
aquatic environments and into human and animal brain tissues. Acid rain dissolves and washes34
LC004842 - Page 16 of 24
economy, fish and game, foraging, forestry, ornithology, permaculture, toxicology, wildlife; and1
water purity in lakes, rivers, wetlands and the ocean;2
(4) Legal experts in warrantless surveillance and privacy rights, rights to public safety and3
freedom from imposed medical protocols, both intentional and effectively functioning as such;4
(5) Weaponry experts in nuclear, biological, chemical, electromagnetic, sonic, and others;5
and experts in security therefrom; and6
(6) Other interested individuals and organizations in Rhode Island that might ask the7
department to provide notice when receiving license applications.8
(f) The department shall hold two (2) hearings separated by a period of two (2) weeks and9
over a total comment period of five (5) weeks from the first hearing, or longer periods, as shall be10
promulgated by the director for the purpose of collecting further substantive information.11
(g) Following the close of the comment period, in response to the above hearings and12
received information, the department shall within three (3) weeks or a reasonable period to be13
promulgated by the director, draft its IRC summarizing the content collected in the above IRs and14
public processes, citing the collected safety, environmental health, agricultural, coastal, economic,15
security, and other impacts of the applied-for activity, tentatively recommending the granting or16
denying of the license, and publish the IRC on the website.17
(h) The director shall supplement the IRC by adding any new, pertinent information18
received by the department, and shall correct any misinformation and make precise any vague19
statement in the draft IRC.20
(i) Within ten (10) days, the department shall complete the revision of the draft IRC and21
publish its final IRC with recommendation to grant, deny, or grant in a qualified way, the applied-22
for activity.23
(j) The applicant then shall have ten (10) days to respond to the final IRC, to substantiate24
comprehensively any disagreement with the IRC, IR, and public comments and to prove health and25
safety in a written application response (AR). Within one business day of receipt, the department26
shall publish the AR on its website.27
23-23.8-8. Decision-making criteria -- Application of federal law.28
(a) Within ten (10) days or a reasonable period to be promulgated by the director, the29
director shall announce on the website the final decision whether to grant, deny, or grant with stated30
conditions, the applied-for license.31
(b) The department shall weight in the IRC bodily security, health, and environmental and32
agricultural protection more heavily than economic interests.33
(c) The department shall include in the IRC prepared under this subsection the factual and34
LC004842 - Page 17 of 24
legal information presented at any pertinent hearings held by the department, recognizing, without1
limitation, the Ninth Amendment protection of individual rights to privacy and freedom from2
assault in one's home and body, as superseding both any federal impositions and Tenth Amendment3
states' rights.4
(d) Since, under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United5
Nations General Assembly to which the United States is a signatory, "Everyone has the right to6
life, liberty and security of person," (Article 3), those harmed or more likely to be harmed bodily7
by way of atmospheric activities have a greater right than do stakeholders with monetary interests,8
and this bodily right shall be weighted by the department more heavily than financial interest in9
licensing and appeals decisions.10
(e) Further, the federal Americans with Disabilities Act provides that persons with11
disabilities be able to participate in society without being harmed.12
(f) The federal Fair Housing Amendment Act allows persons with disabilities dwellings13
that are accessible, i.e., free of harm, including from exogenous circumstances such as potentially14
hazardous activities.15
(g) COVID precedents have established that human health is to be prioritized above16
financial interests.17
(h) Since atmospheric activities carried out even at extremely high altitudes may result in18
serious terrestrial consequences in communities and even within homes and bodies, persons with19
disabilities who are more susceptible to harm by way of prior injuries, exposures, impairments,20
illnesses, or other reasons, have weightier stakeholder status under this section.21
23-23.8-9. Application denial -- Criteria.22
The department shall deny an application if either of the following is true:23
(1) An applicable impact report (IR) substantively recommends that the applied-for activity24
be disallowed; or25
(2) An applicant has not disproven the validity of evidence submitted under this chapter26
that the applied-for activity is harmful.27
23-23.8-10. Granting of license -- License agreement.28
(a) If licensing the activity, the director shall, within ten (10) days or a reasonable period29
to be promulgated, draft a license agreement.30
(b) Upon granting a license under this chapter, the director shall first issue the applicant a31
draft agreement potentially to be executed, which shall include:32
(1) A detailed list of the department's conditions, limitations, and safeguards placed upon33
the activity;34
LC004842 - Page 18 of 24
(2) Steps to be taken to document each aspect of the activity by the hour and minute with1
GPS location and altitude, and to track observable effects of the activity in real time; and2
(3) Follow-up requirements for the detailed PAR to be submitted to the department by the3
licensee within thirty (30) days after completion of the activity.4
(c) Where a license is to be granted, the potential licensee must provide proof of insurance5
and bonding for the specific activity at least three (3) weeks prior to the activity start date, or else6
the license is void, in which case the director shall immediately provide notice to the applicant of7
void status, and place such notice on the website.8
23-23.8-11. Application fee.9
The director shall ensure that the applicant's fee is deposited within the health-and-10
environment protection fund.11
23-23.8-12. Execution of agreement.12
(a) The applicant must provide:13
(1) A signed hardcopy and electronic copy of the agreement with the signatory's indication14
of all participants' understandings of the potential for adverse consequences if the terms and15
conditions are violated or not fulfilled;16
(2) An agreement to document the hour, minute, and GPS location or locations and altitude17
or altitudes of each aspect of the activity or activities; and18
(3) An agreement to submit a PAR within thirty (30) days of completion of the activity, to19
ensure that each aspect of the activity was carried out as agreed.20
(b) The director shall execute the agreement and issue the license to the applicant pursuant21
to § 23-23.8-10, if the director finds the applicant's signature, bonding, insurance, and other22
requirements to be complete and accurate.23
(c) In the case of a denial pursuant to § 23-23.8-10, the director shall provide the applicant24
summary reasons for denial, as substantiated within the IRC.25
23-23.8-13. License status -- Limitations.26
(a) A license is a contract between the department and the licensee only, and is also a public27
document from which signatures may be redacted prior to publication on the department's website.28
(b) A license must not be used for any activity other than that specified in the license.29
23-23.8-14. Confirmation of atmospheric activity -- Public notice.30
(a) A licensee must confirm in writing to the department at least two (2) weeks in advance31
of the start date of its intent to carry out the activity on the licensed start date pursuant to the terms32
of the license agreement.33
(b) Should the applicant wish to delay the start date of the applied-for activity, such request34
LC004842 - Page 19 of 24
and reasons for proposed modification must be submitted to the department in a timely manner,1
and shall be deliberated publicly during an additional ten (10) day period to ensure that the new,2
proposed date or dates do not conflict with state or other activities.3
(c) After the additional ten (10) day deliberation period set forth in subsection (b), the4
director shall issue a decision to modify or not modify the license's start date.5
(d) The department shall notify the public on its website of the activity's commencement6
seven (7) days in advance of the start date.7
23-23.8-15. Live data collection -- Post-activity report.8
(a) The department shall collect during and after an activity any and all reports from the9
public and other sources, along with its OC&I, as detailed in this chapter.10
(b) A detailed PAR with a signature and an electronic copy must be submitted to the11
department by a licensee within thirty (30) days after completion of the activity, including the steps12
taken to ensure safety and track effects, the hour, minute, GPS location and altitude of each aspect13
of the activity, and any effects observed to-date.14
23-23.8-16. Post-activity public hearing.15
Within forty (40) days of the completion of an activity licensed pursuant to this chapter,16
the director shall publish the PAR, any other collected public information and reports, and other17
reports on the website, and shall convene a public hearing to occur within sixty (60) days of the18
completion of the activity to discuss the effects of the activity.19
23-23.8-17. Appeals.20
An applicant aggrieved by a decision of the director pursuant to this chapter may seek21
judicial review of the decision pursuant to chapter 35 of title 42 (administrative procedure act).22
23-23.8-18. Unlicensed activity.23
(a) The director shall immediately issue a cease-and-desist order upon the discovery of an24
unlicensed atmospheric activity, where an agency, department, office, program, or member of the25
public produces evidence to the department that the activity may be harmful or involves a26
hazardous emission; and27
(b) The cease-and-desist order under subsection (a) of this section shall have the weight of28
a court order and any violation shall be punished under law.29
23-23.8-19. Departmental notice to cease federal or internationally-approved30
programs.31
(a) Where an activity that the department has deemed hazardous has been approved,32
explicitly or implicitly, by the federal government, the department shall issue a notice to the33
appropriate federal authority and/or the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that the hazardous34
LC004842 - Page 20 of 24
activity cannot lawfully be carried out within or over the State of Rhode Island, pursuant to the1
Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.2
(b) A foreign state or international body that funds in-part or in-whole or engages in an3
activity deemed hazardous by the department shall be prohibited in perpetuity from both engaging4
in and applying to engage in atmospheric activities in or above the State of Rhode Island. The5
department is authorized to provide notice to such foreign state or international body that the6
hazardous activity cannot lawfully be carried out within or over the State of Rhode Island.7
23-23.8-20. Penalties and Enforcement.8
An unlicensed entity or individual that engages in an activity requiring a license under this9
chapter or who fails to comply with the decision of the director, or any entity or person who uses10
an unmarked or unidentified aircraft or other vehicle or facility to carry out an atmospheric activity:11
(1) Has committed a felony and shall pay a fine of not less than five hundred thousand12
dollars ($500,000) or be imprisoned for not less than two (2) years, or both;13
(2) Shall be guilty of a separate offense for each day during which violative activity has14
been conducted, repeated, or continued; and15
(3) Shall also be deemed in violation and subject to further penalties under § 23-23-14.16
23-23.8-21. Public participation -- Reporting.17
(a) The department shall post advertisements in newspapers of general circulation and on18
the website to encourage the public to monitor, measure, document and report present, potential19
and past incidents that may constitute harmful atmospheric activity.20
(b) An individual who presents evidence of potentially harmful atmospheric activity under21
subsection (a) of this section shall email or otherwise write and send any of the following to the22
director or to any state police office or public official:23
(1) Evidentiary photographs, each separately titled as an electronic or hardcopy document,24
with the respective location from which, and, if the content is from other than a measuring device,25
the direction in which, the photo was taken, with its time and date;26
(2) Collected samples with photography, videography, audiography, lab tests, microscopy,27
spectrometry, metering, and other forms of evidence shall similarly be submitted in writing to the28
director or to any state office, or any state public official; and29
(3) Videography of activity involving hazardous emissions.30
(c) A public official who has received information under subsection (a) of this section and31
has reason to suspect violative activity based on evidence presented by an agency or individual32
under subsection (b) of this section must, directly or through a designee, report in writing within33
hours, all documentary and supportive evidence to the DEM OC&I for enforcement.34


Geoengineering Act from 2017...

http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText17/HouseText17/H6011.pdf

https://legiscan.com/RI/bill/H7787/2022

https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2016/comm/electorate-profiles/cb16-tps54_voting_ri.html