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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Cisneros
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
1/28/06
HB
SHORT TITLE Jemez y Sangre Water District Cloud Seeding
SB 431
ANALYST Lewis
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY06
FY07
1,400.0 Non-Recurring
General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Duplicates HB 149.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Office of the State Engineer (OSE)
Department of Finance and Administration (DFA)
SUMMARY
FOR THE WATER AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE
Synopsis of Bill
Senate Bill 431 appropriates $1,400,000 from the general fund to the Interstate Stream Commis-
sion to conduct a demonstration cloud seeding program in the Jemez y Sangre Regional Water
Planning District.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $1,400,000 contained in this bill is a non-recurring expense to the general
fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2007 shall
revert to the general fund.
According to the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA), the Interstate Stream Com-
mission (ISC) was unable to determine whether $1,400,000 is a realistic cost for the proposed
demonstration project.
pg_0002
Senate Bill 431 – Page
2
The Office of the State Engineer (OSE) notes that evaluation of the benefits derived from cloud
seeding is difficult; and expenditure of the full appropriation in one year might lead to less than
the best possible results for a demonstration project. OSE recommends that expenditure of the
appropriation should be extended through three fiscal years.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
According to the Office of the State Engineer (OSE), weather modification is identified in the
state water plan and most regional water plans as a potential source of new water supply. Be-
cause of a resurgence of weather modification research and cloud seeding operations throughout
the western states, motivated by increasing water demands and drought, the Interstate Stream
Commission (ISC) expects a marked increase in weather control and cloud modification pro-
grams under the New Mexico Weather Control Act.
OSE notes that, since January 2004, a subgroup of the Jemez y Sangre Regional Water Planning
Group of Northern New Mexico has conducted Cloud Seeding Workshops in Santa Fe. Nation-
ally prominent scientists, meteorologists, cloud seeding operators and consultants actively in-
volved in weather modification research and operations throughout the western United States
have provided presentations at the workshops. Santa Fe business interests co-sponsored the
workshops and attended by a broad range of regional public officials.
The Jemez y Sangre group has used the information provided from the workshops to develop a
detailed project plan and scope of work for a demonstration program to evaluate regional atmos-
pheric conditions and better understand operational and assessment requirements for conducting
cloud seeding operations in northern New Mexico.
PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS
DFA notes that previous cloud-seeding projects have meet with mixed opinion as to the efficacy
of the practice. The ISC, which is the agency with statutory authority to license and regulate
cloud seeding, reports that its role in distributing these funds will allow it to incorporate quantifi-
able measurement and benefit analysis into the demonstration project to determine the efficacy
of cloud seeding.
DFA suggests that this demonstration project may also provide insight into best practices for
cloud seeding and cloud seeding regulation.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
DFA notes that the ISC appears to have sufficient resources and expertise to administer this
demonstration project.
TECHNICAL ISSUES
OSE cautions that, given the variability of the natural meteorological environment, great care
must be taken in the planning, execution, and assessment of cloud seeding projects.
DFA suggests that
under modified accrual accounting (Section 6-5-10(A) NMSA 1978), rever-
pg_0003
Senate Bill 431 – Page
3
sion language should read “Any unreserved undesignated balance remaining at the end of fiscal
year 2007 shall revert to the general fund.”
WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL
OSE observes that, if this bill is not enacted, there will be no state support for cloud seeding ac-
tivities that show promise in terms of development of alternate water resources.
AMENDMENTS
OSE proposes an amendment to extend the appropriation through three fiscal years.
ML/mt