ATLANTA Representatives from agribusiness supported Monday’s legislation to protect Georgia farmers against nuisance lawsuits. Environmental advocates opposed the legislation.
The Freedom to Farm Act would replace the 1989 law passed by the General Assembly.
House Bill 1150 was passed by the Georgia House in early March. It gives neighbors one year to file a nuisance complaint if they are bothered by bad smells, noise, or water pollution coming from a farm. Any farm that is legally operating would be protected after that.
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Members of the Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee were told by the opponents that the bill wasn’t necessary since the current law works.
Neill Herring, a lobbyist for Georgia’s Sierra Club, stated that not one nuisance lawsuit has been filed against an agricultural operation in Georgia in 32 years.
The bill supporter stated that they are concerned about future nuisance suits as urban encroachment on farmland spreads throughout the state.
Future farmers need protection in order to encourage them to return home and make significant investments. [from lawsuits]Alex Bradford, director for public policy at the Georgia Farm Bureau, stated that they are.
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Opponents also claimed that the one-year statute is not sufficient to protect farmers from large agricultural operations moving near them and interfering in their legal right to enjoy property.
April Lipscomb, an environmental lawyer with the Southern Environmental Law Center, said that nuisances take time to develop. They rarely happen overnight.
Bryan Tolar is a lobbyist for the Georgia Urban Agriculture Council. This council represents the landscaping, gardening, and turf industries. He suggested that the bill clarify that noise, smoke and dust are not nuisances. He said that the measure does not include these words as it stands.
Tolar stated, “All agriculture will generate some smoke and some dust.
Monday’s vote was not taken by the committee. The bill must pass both the Rules and Agriculture committees in order to reach the Senate floor within the last two weeks of the session.
This story is available through a news partnership between Capitol Beat News Service and the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
