| 1 | 1 | | BILL AS INTRODUCED H.217 |
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| 2 | 2 | | 2025 Page 1 of 8 |
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| 5 | 5 | | VT LEG #379707 v.3 |
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| 6 | 6 | | H.217 1 |
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| 7 | 7 | | Introduced by Representatives Burtt of Cabot, Branagan of Georgia, Coffin of 2 |
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| 8 | 8 | | Cavendish, Cooper of Pownal, Dobrovich of Williamstown, 3 |
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| 9 | 9 | | Goslant of Northfield, Harvey of Castleton, Higley of Lowell, 4 |
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| 10 | 10 | | Lipsky of Stowe, Morgan, L. of Milton, Nelson of Derby, North 5 |
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| 11 | 11 | | of Ferrisburgh, O’Brien of Tunbridge, Powers of Waterford, 6 |
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| 12 | 12 | | Pritchard of Pawlet, Southworth of Walden, Sweeney of 7 |
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| 13 | 13 | | Shelburne, Tagliavia of Corinth, Wells of Brownington, and 8 |
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| 14 | 14 | | Winter of Ludlow 9 |
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| 15 | 15 | | Referred to Committee on 10 |
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| 16 | 16 | | Date: 11 |
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| 17 | 17 | | Subject: Conservation and development; air pollution; geoengineering 12 |
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| 18 | 18 | | Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to prohibit the 13 |
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| 19 | 19 | | use of solar radiation modification, cloud seeding, geoengineering, and other 14 |
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| 20 | 20 | | polluting atmospheric experiments and interventions. It would require reports 15 |
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| 21 | 21 | | of violations to be made to the Vermont State Police, sheriffs, or deputized 16 |
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| 22 | 22 | | Vermont citizens to enforce the provisions. 17 |
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| 23 | 23 | | An act relating to prohibiting geoengineering 18 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.217 |
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| 24 | 24 | | 2025 Page 2 of 8 |
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| 26 | 26 | | |
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| 27 | 27 | | VT LEG #379707 v.3 |
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| 28 | 28 | | It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 1 |
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| 29 | 29 | | Sec. 1. SHORT TITLE 2 |
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| 30 | 30 | | This act may be cited as the “Vermont Clean Air Preservation Act.” 3 |
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| 31 | 31 | | Sec. 2. 10 V.S.A. chapter 23A is added to read: 4 |
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| 32 | 32 | | CHAPTER 23A. GEOENGINEERING 5 |
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| 33 | 33 | | § 587. DEFINITIONS 6 |
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| 34 | 34 | | As used in this chapter: 7 |
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| 35 | 35 | | (1) “Atmospheric activity” means any polluting experiment or 8 |
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| 36 | 36 | | intervention conducted by any person, artificial intelligence, or any 9 |
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| 37 | 37 | | combination thereof, that occurs in the atmosphere and may have harmful 10 |
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| 38 | 38 | | consequences upon health, the environment, or agriculture. 11 |
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| 39 | 39 | | (2) “Chaff” means aluminum-coated silica glass fibers typically 12 |
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| 40 | 40 | | dispersed in bundles containing 5,000,000 to 100,000,000 inhalable fibers, 13 |
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| 41 | 41 | | which fall to the ground in about one day, or for nano-chaff, years, and then 14 |
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| 42 | 42 | | fall and break apart. Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), 15 |
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| 43 | 43 | | known also as “forever chemicals,” are an ingredient in chaff. 16 |
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| 44 | 44 | | (3) “Cloud seeding” is a type of weather engineering or experimentation 17 |
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| 45 | 45 | | that may change the amount or type of precipitation by dispersing chemicals or 18 |
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| 46 | 46 | | chemical compounds such as dry ice (CO2), silver iodide (AgI), or Tri-methyl 19 |
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| 47 | 47 | | aluminum (TMA) into the atmosphere by means of aircraft or ground 20 |
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| 48 | 48 | | generators. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.217 |
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| 49 | 49 | | 2025 Page 3 of 8 |
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| 51 | 51 | | |
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| 52 | 52 | | VT LEG #379707 v.3 |
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| 53 | 53 | | (4) “Entity” means any of the following: individual; trust; firm; joint 1 |
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| 54 | 54 | | stock company; corporation, including a quasigovernmental corporation; 2 |
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| 55 | 55 | | nongovernmental organization; public or private partnership; association; 3 |
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| 56 | 56 | | syndicate; municipality or municipal agency; program; fire district; club; 4 |
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| 57 | 57 | | nonprofit agency; commission; university; college or academic institution; 5 |
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| 58 | 58 | | State department or agency; the federal government or any interstate or 6 |
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| 59 | 59 | | international governance or instrumentality thereof, including foreign, 7 |
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| 60 | 60 | | domestic, and mercenary armed services or region within the United States; 8 |
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| 61 | 61 | | and artificial intelligence. 9 |
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| 62 | 62 | | (5) “Geoengineering” means the intentional large-scale alteration or 10 |
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| 63 | 63 | | manipulation of the environment involving the release of aerosols, chemicals, 11 |
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| 64 | 64 | | chemical compounds, electromagnetic radiation, or other physical agents that 12 |
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| 65 | 65 | | increase air pollution and effect changes to the earth’s atmosphere or surface, 13 |
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| 66 | 66 | | inclusive of solar radiation modification, sunlight reflection methods, 14 |
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| 67 | 67 | | stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), cirrus cloud thinning (CCT), marine 15 |
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| 68 | 68 | | cloud brightening (MCB), or cloud seeding. 16 |
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| 69 | 69 | | (6) “Hazard” means a process, substance, or physical agent that by its 17 |
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| 70 | 70 | | nature is harmful to living organisms generally or to property or another 18 |
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| 71 | 71 | | interest of value. 19 |
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| 72 | 72 | | (7) “Intervention” means the act of interfering with weather processes or 20 |
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| 73 | 73 | | altering atmospheric or environmental conditions or releasing pollutants by 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.217 |
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| 77 | 77 | | VT LEG #379707 v.3 |
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| 78 | 78 | | methods including SRM, SAI, MCB, CCT, weather modification, cloud 1 |
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| 79 | 79 | | seeding, or outdoor pollution dispersion modeling. 2 |
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| 80 | 80 | | (8) “Physical agent” means an agent, other than a substance, including 3 |
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| 81 | 81 | | radiofrequency/microwave (RF/MW) and other electromagnetic radiation and 4 |
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| 82 | 82 | | fields, barometric pressure, temperature, gravity, kinetic or de facto weaponry, 5 |
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| 83 | 83 | | mechanical vibration, and sound. 6 |
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| 84 | 84 | | (9) “Pollutant” means any aerosol; biologic; biologic or genetically 7 |
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| 85 | 85 | | modified agent; perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) known 8 |
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| 86 | 86 | | also as “forever chemicals”; chaff; substance, including smoke, vapor, soot, 9 |
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| 87 | 87 | | fumes, acid, alkalis, chemicals, chemical compounds, and smart dust; 10 |
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| 88 | 88 | | artificially produced electric fields; magnetic fields, electromagnetic fields, 11 |
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| 89 | 89 | | electromagnetic pulse (EMP), sound waves, sound pollution, light pollution, 12 |
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| 90 | 90 | | and microwaves; and all artificially produced ionizing or nonionizing radiation 13 |
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| 91 | 91 | | or waste. 14 |
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| 92 | 92 | | (10) “Pollution” means the discharge, dispersal, deposition, injection, 15 |
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| 93 | 93 | | release, seepage, migration, or escape of pollutants. 16 |
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| 94 | 94 | | (11) “Release” means any activity that results in the issuance of 17 |
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| 95 | 95 | | pollutants such as the emitting, transmitting, discharging, or injecting of one or 18 |
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| 96 | 96 | | more nuclear; biological; biological, chemical, or physical agents into the 19 |
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| 97 | 97 | | ambient atmosphere, whether once, intermittently, or continuously. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.217 |
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| 98 | 98 | | 2025 Page 5 of 8 |
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| 100 | 100 | | |
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| 101 | 101 | | VT LEG #379707 v.3 |
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| 102 | 102 | | (12) “Solar radiation modification,” “sunlight reflection methods,” or 1 |
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| 103 | 103 | | “SRM” means an experiment in the earth’s climatic system involving the 2 |
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| 104 | 104 | | release of pollutants that reduces the amount of sunlight reaching the earth’s 3 |
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| 105 | 105 | | surface. Scientific dimensions of SRM include the use of interoperable 4 |
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| 106 | 106 | | ground-based, airborne, and space-based facilities. 5 |
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| 107 | 107 | | (13) “State Guard” means the entity established pursuant to 20 V.S.A. 6 |
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| 108 | 108 | | chapter 61. 7 |
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| 109 | 109 | | (14) “Weather engineering” means the deliberate manipulation or 8 |
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| 110 | 110 | | alteration of the environment for the purpose of changing the weather or 9 |
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| 111 | 111 | | climate by artificial means, through interventions involving the release of 10 |
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| 112 | 112 | | pollutants into the atmosphere via cloud seeding for small-scale, large-scale, 11 |
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| 113 | 113 | | and global-scale alteration of the environment. 12 |
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| 114 | 114 | | (15) “Weather modification” means changing, controlling, or interfering 13 |
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| 115 | 115 | | with or attempting to change, control, or interfere with the natural development 14 |
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| 116 | 116 | | of cloud forms, precipitation, barometric pressure, temperature, conductivity, 15 |
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| 117 | 117 | | or other electromagnetic or sonic characteristics of the atmosphere. 16 |
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| 118 | 118 | | § 588. PROHIBITION ON GEOENGINEERING 17 |
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| 119 | 119 | | (a) No person or entity shall engage in solar radiation modification (SRM) 18 |
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| 120 | 120 | | or any polluting atmospheric intervention in Vermont, including using an 19 |
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| 121 | 121 | | aircraft, a balloon, a space-based platform, a ground generator, or an 20 |
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| 122 | 122 | | interoperable ground-based facility. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.217 |
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| 123 | 123 | | 2025 Page 6 of 8 |
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| 125 | 125 | | |
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| 126 | 126 | | VT LEG #379707 v.3 |
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| 127 | 127 | | (b) The Vermont State Police or a sheriff shall immediately issue a cease-1 |
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| 128 | 128 | | and-desist order when an unlawful polluting atmospheric intervention is 2 |
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| 129 | 129 | | suspected. The cease-and-desist order under this section shall have the weight 3 |
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| 130 | 130 | | of a court order and any violation shall be punished in accordance with section 4 |
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| 131 | 131 | | 589a of this chapter. 5 |
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| 132 | 132 | | (c) Government and armed forces projects shall meet all the requirements 6 |
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| 133 | 133 | | of this chapter. If an activity deemed a hazard pursuant to this chapter has 7 |
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| 134 | 134 | | been approved, explicitly or implicitly, by the federal government, the State 8 |
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| 135 | 135 | | Police or a sheriff shall issue a notice to the appropriate federal agency that the 9 |
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| 136 | 136 | | activity cannot lawfully be carried out within or over the State of Vermont. 10 |
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| 137 | 137 | | (d) This chapter shall be implemented by the State Police and sheriffs, who 11 |
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| 138 | 138 | | shall determine whether violations have occurred and, if deemed necessary, 12 |
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| 139 | 139 | | shall refer potentially prohibited activity to the Vermont Air National Guard or 13 |
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| 140 | 140 | | State Guard. The State Police and the Vermont Air National Guard shall 14 |
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| 141 | 141 | | develop a policy to determine the process for referring violations to the 15 |
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| 142 | 142 | | National Guard and what the enforcement procedure is. 16 |
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| 143 | 143 | | § 589. COMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE 17 |
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| 144 | 144 | | (a) Communications facilities shall be subject to evaluation by an 18 |
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| 145 | 145 | | independent licensed radiofrequency (RF) engineer paid for by the facility 19 |
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| 146 | 146 | | owner because SRM includes the use of interoperable ground-based, airborne, 20 |
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| 147 | 147 | | and space-based facilities and heightened radiation levels. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.217 |
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| 148 | 148 | | 2025 Page 7 of 8 |
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| 150 | 150 | | |
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| 151 | 151 | | VT LEG #379707 v.3 |
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| 152 | 152 | | (b) The RF engineer shall provide findings in a report to be submitted to 1 |
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| 153 | 153 | | the local sheriff. The radiation signal strength metered at the reported location 2 |
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| 154 | 154 | | is not to exceed -75 dBm (decibel-milliwatt) for any frequency or channel band 3 |
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| 155 | 155 | | specified by a transmitting entity’s FCC transmission license; or, maximum 4 |
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| 156 | 156 | | power output limit from all frequencies or antennas from a wireless facility is 5 |
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| 157 | 157 | | not to exceed 0.1 watt of effective radiated power (ERP) so as to provide -75 6 |
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| 158 | 158 | | dBm signal strength at one-half mile, or five bars on a cell phone. If signal 7 |
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| 159 | 159 | | strength metered by the RF engineer is in excess of -75 dBm, the facility 8 |
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| 160 | 160 | | operator has 30 days to achieve compliance without disruption to performance 9 |
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| 161 | 161 | | of Vermonters’ personal wireless services. The State Police shall perform 10 |
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| 162 | 162 | | random testing from time to time to ensure facility compliance with this 11 |
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| 163 | 163 | | chapter. Failure to comply will result in a fine of not more than $50,000.00 per 12 |
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| 164 | 164 | | day for each day the facility is out of compliance. Deliberate falsification or 13 |
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| 165 | 165 | | altering of information related to this section shall constitute a violation of this 14 |
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| 166 | 166 | | chapter. All public and private entities operating in the state shall comply with 15 |
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| 167 | 167 | | the requirements of this section. 16 |
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| 168 | 168 | | § 589a. PENALTIES AND ENFORCEMENT 17 |
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| 169 | 169 | | (a) An entity or individual who engages in a polluting atmospheric 18 |
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| 170 | 170 | | intervention or who uses an unmarked or unidentified aircraft or other vehicle 19 |
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| 171 | 171 | | or facility to carry out SRM, SAI, geoengineering, weather modification, 20 |
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| 172 | 172 | | cloud-seeding, or any other polluting atmospheric intervention: 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.217 |
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| 175 | 175 | | |
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| 176 | 176 | | VT LEG #379707 v.3 |
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| 177 | 177 | | (1) has committed a felony and shall pay a fine of not more than 1 |
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| 178 | 178 | | $50,000.00 or be imprisoned for not more than two years, or both; 2 |
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| 179 | 179 | | (2) shall be guilty of a separate offense for each day during which 3 |
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| 180 | 180 | | violative activity has been conducted, repeated, or continued; and 4 |
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| 181 | 181 | | (3) shall be subject to the penalties of any other applicable pollution 5 |
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| 182 | 182 | | laws. 6 |
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| 183 | 183 | | (b) Each sheriff shall deputize and train one or more Vermont citizens to 7 |
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| 184 | 184 | | help enforce the provisions of this chapter. The State Police, sheriff, or a 8 |
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| 185 | 185 | | deputized Vermont citizen shall investigate reports of SRM, polluting 9 |
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| 186 | 186 | | atmospheric interventions, or radiation to ensure compliance with the 10 |
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| 187 | 187 | | requirements of this chapter. 11 |
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| 188 | 188 | | Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE 12 |
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| 189 | 189 | | This act shall take effect on passage. 13 |
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