85-3-202. Department to review applications. (1) The department shall review all applications for weather modification activities. The department shall prepare a report and an environmental impact statement pursuant to Title 75, chapter 1, part 2. The report must contain information relative to all of the criteria applicable to issuance of a permit in 85-3-206. Prior to preparing the report, the department shall conduct at least one public meeting in the area affected by the proposed weather modification activity. The department's actual costs of conducting the public meeting, preparing the report, and preparing the environmental impact statement must be paid by the applicant.

(2) The department may provide by rule for exempting from the license and permit requirements of this chapter:

(a) research, development, and experiments by state and federal agencies, institutions of higher learning, and bona fide nonprofit research organizations and their agents;

(b) laboratory research and experiments;

(c) activities of an emergency character for protection against fire, frost, sleet, or fog; and

(d) activities normally engaged in for purposes other than those of inducing, increasing, decreasing, or preventing precipitation or hail.