To run a cloud seeding operation in Washington State, you need two separate authorizations from the Department of Ecology: a weather modification license showing meteorological competence, and a cloud seeding permit for each individual operation in Washington State. You also have to prove financial responsibility, publish public notice for three consecutive weeks, attend a public hearing in Olympia, and file a federal report with NOAA at least ten days before work begins. The program sits in Chapter 70A.10 RCW.1Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 70A.10 – Weather Modification
The License Comes First
Before any permit, you need a license from the Department of Ecology. The license shows you have the meteorological competence to conduct weather modification. If an organization applies, the person who will actually run operations has to personally meet the competence standard.
Licenses cost $100 to obtain or renew, and they expire at the end of the calendar year they were issued, regardless of when during the year you got one.1Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 70A.10 – Weather Modification
A Separate Permit for Each Operation
A single license does not cover multiple projects. You need a separate permit for every operation, and the statute defines an “operation” narrowly: weather modification activities aimed at producing a specific effect, within one geographic area, over a continuous period of no more than one year. Two regions or two contracts means two permits.2Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 70A.10.100 – Separate Permit for Each Operation, Filing and Publishing Notice of Intention, Activities Restricted by Permit and Notice
Once issued, the permit limits you to the time and area described in your notice of intention. Any change requires Department approval, and whatever conditions the Department attached to the permit are binding.2Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 70A.10.100 – Separate Permit for Each Operation, Filing and Publishing Notice of Intention, Activities Restricted by Permit and Notice
Proving Financial Responsibility
Before the Department will issue a permit, you have to show you can cover damages that could reasonably result from the operation. The statute doesn’t name a dollar figure or require a specific instrument such as a surety bond. The standard is simply that the Department has to be satisfied adequate resources exist.3Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 70A.10.130 – Financial Responsibility
Keep this in mind: the state is explicitly not on the hook for damage caused by your operation, and private parties keep every legal right they’d otherwise have. Flooding, erosion, crop loss, or other harm can trigger a tort or contract claim against the operator. The financial responsibility requirement is there because the legislature expected that possibility.4Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 70A.10.170 – Liability of State Denied, Legal Rights of Private Persons Not Affected
Notice of Intention and Public Hearing
For each operation, you file a notice of intention with the Department and publish it publicly. The notice has to include your name and address, the nature and purpose of the operation, who it’s being conducted for, the geographic area of operation and the area intended to be affected, the approximate timeline, and the materials and methods you’ll use.5Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 70A.10.110 – Notice of Intention, Contents
Publication runs at least once a week for three consecutive weeks in a legal newspaper with general circulation in each county where the operation will take place or where the affected area is located. If the operation spans multiple counties, or if the area you’re trying to affect lies in a different county than the one you’re working from, the notice runs in every relevant county. Where no legal newspaper is published inside the appropriate county, you publish in one that circulates generally within it.6Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 70A.10.120 – Notice of Intention, Publication
The Department must also hold an open public hearing in Olympia before issuing the permit. The hearing is a precondition, not something triggered only when opponents show up.7Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 70A.10.090 – Permits, Requirements, Hearing as to Issuance
Federal NOAA Reporting
Washington’s permit is not the end of your paperwork. Federal law, under the Weather Modification Reporting Act of 1972, requires anyone conducting weather modification anywhere in the United States to notify the Administrator of NOAA at least ten days before starting. A final report is due after the activity concludes. Failure to report can draw a fine of up to $10,000.8NOAA Library. Weather Modification Project Reports
NOAA accepts reports by email using a specific file-naming convention that includes the year, state, and project name. The forms are the Initial Report (Form 17-4), filed before the project begins, and the Interim/Final Report (Form 17-4A), filed during and after. The definition of covered activity reaches beyond cloud seeding to include heat sources used to influence convection, dispersal of materials to modify solar radiation, and the application of electromagnetic radiation or shock waves to the atmosphere.8NOAA Library. Weather Modification Project Reports
Narrow exemptions exist. Purely local work not expected to affect weather beyond the immediate area, such as small heat sources or fans used to prevent frost damage to crops, is not reportable. Religious ceremonies or rituals intended to modify weather are also exempt.
Records You Have to Keep
For every operation, you keep detailed records: the method used, the type of equipment, the materials and quantities dispersed, the times and locations equipment was operated, and the name and address of every individual who participated. The Department sets the deadlines and formats for reports, and those records are open to public examination.9Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 70A.10.150 – Records and Reports, Open to Public Examination
Organizations that qualify for an exemption from the license and permit requirements under RCW 70A.10.070 still have to file written reports with the Department. Being exempt from permitting is not the same as being free from oversight.
Drought Emergency Operations
Washington has a faster track when the governor declares a state of emergency for lack of precipitation or a water supply shortage under RCW 43.06.210. In that situation, the Department must waive the public hearing requirement and the three-week newspaper publication requirement for operators who already hold a license, letting work begin much sooner than the normal timeline would allow.10Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 70A.10.210 – Exemption of Licensee From Certain Requirements
The emergency exemption is limited. It does not waive the licensing requirement, the financial responsibility requirement, or the obligation to keep records and file reports. Landowner rights and your liability exposure stay fully intact.
What a Violation Costs
The Department can suspend or revoke a license or permit if the holder no longer meets the qualifications for a new license or has violated any provision of Chapter 70A.10. You get notice and a reasonable opportunity to be heard before suspension or revocation takes effect. The Department can also refuse to renew a license or issue another permit to someone who has failed to comply with the law.11Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 70A.10.160 – Revocation, Suspension, Modification of License or Permit
If something goes wrong after a permit is issued, the Department can modify the permit’s terms on health or property grounds, again after notice and a hearing.11Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 70A.10.160 – Revocation, Suspension, Modification of License or Permit
Chapter 70A.10 also contains a criminal penalty provision at RCW 70A.10.180. Beyond administrative and criminal exposure, you remain open to civil claims from anyone who can show demonstrable harm from your operation. Standard tort theories, including negligence, nuisance, and trespass, are available because the statute preserves private legal rights in full.
One last practical note on jurisdiction. If your operation touches federally managed lands or water systems, you may need to coordinate with agencies such as the Bureau of Reclamation or the U.S. Forest Service. Projects that intersect tribal lands or water rights can require consultation with tribal governments. Chapter 70A.10 does not lay out those coordination procedures itself, so you handle them separately from the state permit process.