What role does the State of Texas assume in weather modification?
The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) is the State agency responsible for administering the Texas Weather Modification Act, enacted in 1967 by the Texas Legislature and now codified as Chapter 79 of the Texas Administrative Code. The Act requires the agency to regulate the use of cloud seeding through a licensing and permitting procedure. Furthermore, the Act charges the TDLR with promoting the development, and demonstration, of cloud-seeding technology through research. A companion state agency, the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA), has been given the role of helping to sponsor rain-enhancement activities in cooperation with political subdivisions. Since the 75th Texas Legislature first began providing State funds to reimburse political subdivisions for costs incurred in conducting cloud seeding operations. TDA (as well as its predecessor agency, the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC)) has been the sole source of State funding for newly-desig
