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<br />Included in the authorization studies were reviews of existing State and <br />Federal 1egi s 1 ati on pertai ning to weather modificat ion, i dent ificat ion of <br />inadequate legislation and necessary new legislation, and establishment of <br />necessary permit and licensing procedures to allow the timely implementation <br />of a State cloud seeding program. Requirements for interstate agreements <br />authorizing operations in one State for the benefit of another State were <br />recognized, and the possibility of extra-area effects was considered. <br />Liability, compensation, and water rights issues were also addressed. <br /> <br />State organizational arrangements included establishing responsibility for <br />declaring drought, for authoriziing and implementing cloud seeding operations, <br />and for suspending or terminating such activities. Establishment of criteria <br />for operating State-sponsored weather modification projects for drought <br />relief is usually a function of State legislatures, acting on recommendations <br />from agencies such as those participating in the Southwest Drought Research <br />Program. Channels of communication providing information that goes into <br />decisionmaking (meteorological, agricultural, societal, etc.) have been <br />identified. In addition, procedures have been proposed for public involve- <br />ment in authorizing cloud seeding and for public information about cloud <br />seeding. <br /> <br />The funding issue included not only identifying sources of money to establish <br />and operate cloud seeding projects, but also finding those that would allow <br />for timely implementation of the projects on a continuing basis. While the <br />availability of Federal funds for drought relief can be considered, it is <br />probably in the best interests of the States to base their cloud seeding <br />efforts on non-Federal monies. <br /> <br />Technical investigations. - Technical studies included developing the clima- <br />tology of drought and nondrought periods, assessing the potential for weather <br />modification during drought and nondrought periods, estimating probable net <br />economic and agricultural benefits and probable social and environmental <br />impacts of cloud seeding for drought mitigation, and evaluating alternatives <br />to cloud seeding for alleviating drought effects. <br /> <br />15 <br />