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<br />Authority <br /> <br />What follows is a brief description of the major authorities that have been enacted for this <br />subject matter. There are dozens more for the individual states, but this provides an <br />overview of how this subject has been of interest to Congress for decades. <br /> <br />The National Weather Modification Act of 1976. The National Weather Modification <br />Act of 1976 (Public Law 94-490), directed the Secretary of Commerce to develop a <br />comprehensive and coordinated national policy on weather modification and <br />recommended a national weather modification research and development program. The <br />motivation for this legislation was a severe drought in Kansas and annual damage to <br />property and crops caused by severe weather. It was recognized that all the ongoing <br />weather modification activities were not realizing their potential to mitigate such effects. <br />The Secretary of Commerce was directed to prepare a study on the state of scientific <br />knowledge of the atmospheric processes, research needs, economic studies, and funding <br />issues. The study was to be completed in one year and $1 million was appropriated to <br />carry it out. The author could not find a reference to this report being completed. <br /> <br />Colorado River Basin Proiect Act of 1968. The Colorado River Basin Project Act of <br />1968 (Public Law 90-537) directed the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) in Section <br />102{a) "... to provide a program for the further comprehensive development of the water <br />resources of the Colorado River Basin and for the provision of additional and adequate <br />water supplies for use in the Upper as well as the Lower Colorado River Basin." Under <br />Title II, the Secretary is authorized to prepare an augmentation plan to meet the water <br />requirements of new projects, existing projects, current water allotments, and the 1944 <br />Water Treaty with Mexico. <br /> <br />Section 202 of Public Law 90-537 recognizes a national obligation to annually provide <br />1.5 million acre-feet of water, together with any associated losses of water from the <br />Colorado River, to meet the requirements of the Mexican Water Treaty. Section 202 also <br />states that "The Congress declares that the satisfaction of the requirements of the <br />Mexican Water Treaty from the Colorado River constitutes a national obligation which <br />shall be the first obligation of any water augmentation project planned pursuant to <br />Section 201 of this Act and authorized by the Congress." <br /> <br />Colorado River Basin Salinitv Control Act of 1974. The Colorado River Basin Salinity <br />Control Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-320) authorized and directed the Secretary to <br />proceed with a program of works of improvement for the enhancement and protection of <br />the quality of water in the Colorado River. Section 10 I (c) states that replacement of the <br />reject stream from the Yuma desalting plant and of bypassed Wellton-Mohawk drainage <br />water is "recognized as a national obligation as provided in Section 202 of the Colorado <br />River Basin Project Act." As stated in Section 202, augmented streamflows resulting <br />from cloud seeding would result in decreased salinity concentrations in the Colorado <br />River Basin, and could provide a source of replacement for the Yuma desalting plant <br />reject stream. <br /> <br />-3- <br />