No, Chemtrails Are Not Real or Causing Floods, E.P.A. Says

No, chemtrails are not real, the Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday, in a notable instance of the Trump administration debunking a conspiracy theory that gained traction amid catastrophic flooding in Central Texas.

For decades, scientists have sought to shut down the chemtrails conspiracy theory, which asserts that the federal government is spraying harmful chemicals into the sky to control the weather, population or food supply. On Thursday, their efforts got a major boost from an unexpected source: two new E.P.A. websites that seek to “provide clear, science-based information” on chemtrail claims as well as on geoengineering, or efforts to intentionally alter Earth’s climate.

The websites generally endorse the scientific consensus, according to scientists who reviewed them. For example, they note that chemtrails are “often inaccurately” conflated with contrails, or condensation trails, which are the long, thin clouds left by airplanes as water vapor in jet-engine exhaust condenses and freezes. “I tasked my team at E.P.A. to compile a list of everything we know about contrails and geoengineering for the purpose of releasing it to you now publicly,” the E.P.A. administrator, Lee Zeldin, said in a video posted on social media.

“Instead of simply dismissing these questions and concerns as baseless conspiracies, we’re meeting them head on,” Mr. Zeldin said. “We did the legwork, looked at the science, consulted agency experts and pulled in relevant outside information to put these online resources together.”

Neither Mr. Zeldin nor the sites mentioned the baseless assertions that chemtrails or geoengineering had caused the extreme rainfall that led to the recent Texas flash floods that have killed at least 111 people and left at least 173 missing. Representatives for the E.P.A. did not respond to a request for comment about whether Thursday’s move was prompted by the floods.

Some Trump administration officials and Republican lawmakers have used their platforms to amplify the chemtrails conspiracy theory. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health and human services secretary, has suggested without evidence that the Defense Department’s research arm is spraying Americans with harmful chemicals that have been added to jet fuel.