Measure to abolish weather modification authority on the ballot in Williams, Mountrail counties

WILLISTON, N.D. (KUMV) - Voters in Williams and Mountrail Counties have an extra ballot measure to decide on: Should they end their weather modification authorities? A “Yes” vote would terminate the program, while a “No” vote would result in no change.

Cloud seeding operations have been ongoing in North Dakota since 1948, with aerial seeding starting in 1960. Today, seeding takes place from June to August in Williams, Mountrail, McKenzie, Bowman and parts of Slope Counties.

The process of cloud seeding occurs when meteorologists stationed in Stanley and Bowman identify storm systems and send airplanes out in search of seedable clouds. These planes drop silver iodide and dry ice into the cloud, which officials claim limits the severity of hail and improve total rainfall.

“It is a really inexpensive thing that we provide as a service. I believe it costs around $140,000 a year. It’s been estimated to be a $5 million benefit,” said Steve Kemp, Williams County Commissioner when asked about the program in August.

Doug Stangeland and Amy Dennis are the organizers of the measure to end cloud seeding for Williams and Mountrail Counties. They argue this program has been more of a detriment to local farmers and ranchers.

“Generally, people don’t want the government controlling anything, and you sure don’t want them controlling the weather in the skies also,” said Stangeland.

Several arguments they make against cloud seeding include the health and environmental concerns of the silver iodide, the diminishing of storms when they cross into seeded counties, and the ongoing drought in the region.

“Everybody has seen from the west when a storm is coming and the rain is coming. They fly into them and when they disperse the silver iodide and dry ice, they either make it to where they are eliminated completely or quick and violent. There’s not a general rain to them, so they are doing something up there that’s not good for the environment,” said Stangeland.

Darin Langerud, director of the Atmospheric Resource Division for the Department of Water Resources, refutes these claims.

“The results of all these studies basically said that the safety of silver iodide in the environment is not an issue. Actually, the evidence from seeding shows that seeded storms last a little bit longer than unseeded storms,” said Langerud.

Dennis and Stangeland argue the validity of the state’s studies.

“In order to prove that they work, you would need a double-blind study with a control. With weather, you don’t get that,” said Dennis.

Another argument the organizers claim is the recent termination of programs in Ward and Burke Counties.

“All these other counties that were in the program have left and not come back — why? If it worked the way they said it did, why haven’t other counties signed up to do it?” said Dennis.

Langerud said this is not an uncommon occurrence.

“There have been situations where counties have left the program and then come back in. There have been some movements like that over the years. For the most part, the program’s been pretty steady in the western third of North Dakota, because that’s primarily where it’s a little drier, and hail is more of an issue,” said Langerud.

Regardless of the results, Stangeland said they plan on working with state legislators in an attempt to end the program statewide.

Besides North Dakota, cloud seeding in the summer occurs in parts of Texas and New Mexico. Winter seeding also takes place in six states including Idaho and Wyoming.

For more on cloud seeding, visit the state Water Resources website.