ATLANTA – Legislation supporters say updates a 1980s state law aimed at protecting farmers from nuisance lawsuits is running into opposition from environmental groups.
The Georgia Right to Farm Act of 2020, now before the state Senate, would make it more difficult for property owners living in areas zoned for agriculture to sue nearby agricultural operations such as poultry houses or cattle ranches for offensive smells or runoff from sludge lagoons.
In order to sue, property owners would have to be located within five miles of the source of the alleged nuisance. The bill also would require lawsuits to be brought within two years after a nuisance occurs, compared to four years in the current law.
Supporters told members of the Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee Tuesday farmers need more protection against nuisance lawsuits as Georgia’s growing population brings more people who don’t farm for a living into closer proximity to agricultural operations.
“Agribusiness often comes with smells, sights, and dust,” said Will Bentley, president of the Georgia Agribusiness Council. “We have to decide whether to protect the state’s No.-1 industry.”
But opponents said the current Right to Farm Act has worked in the more than 30 years it’s been on the books.
“We’re trying to fix a problem that I don’t think really exists,” said Damon Mullis, executive director of the Savannah-based environmental group Ogeechee Riverkeeper.
Sen. Zahra Karinshak, D-Duluth, said the proposed changes to the law would make existing owners of farm properties more vulnerable to large agricultural polluters that move into their neighborhoods. She questioned the need to change the law when there’s no data showing whether there has been an outbreak of nuisance lawsuits in Georgia.
Jody Sullivan, who owns four poultry houses in Gordon County, told the committee he has fallen victim to nuisance suits. He said he has spent thousands of dollars defending himself from several suits filed by non-farming neighbors after he began raising chickens in 2015.
“It’s getting hard for us to keep going,” Sullivan said.
Sen. Tyler Harper, R-Ocilla, said farmers in other states are being hit with lawsuits, and lawmakers have responded with legislation giving farmers greater legal protections.
“If one lawsuit is successful [in Georgia], it would open up the floodgates for a multitude of lawsuits,” he said.
The committee could vote on the bill as early as next week.