(a) A farm or farm operation shall not be deemed to be or become a public or private nuisance for purposes of Section 6-5-127, or any other law, or be deemed in violation of any municipal or county ordinance or resolution heretofore or hereafter adopted declaring any farm or farm operation a public or private nuisance other than zoning ordinances applicable thereto, if the farm or farm operation meets all of the following requirements:
(1) The owner of the land or a partner, officer, director, or other principal thereof, does not act in a careless or wrongful manner, engage in the improper operation of any farm or farm operation, or fail to act or perform a legal obligation.
(2) The owner of the land, or a partner, officer, director, or other principal thereof, resides on the farm or actively participates in the operation of the farm, or leases the farm to a person who resides on the farm or actively participates in the operation of the farm.
(3) The farm or farm operation conforms to generally accepted agricultural and farm management practices, as well as applicable agricultural health and sanitary procedures, carried out consistently and in accordance with the appropriate rules, regulations, and orders applicable thereto then in force of the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, the Alabama Department of Public Health, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and the United States Department of Agriculture, including, but not limited to, the following agencies thereof: The Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Farm Service Agency, and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
(4) The farm does not comprise within its farm operations a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation, as described in Section 2-6B-6, for feeding, farrowing, or finishing swine, or any combination thereof, which was not in existence and actively functioning as such on April 12, 2010, or any expansion of the maximum capacity of a concentrated animal feeding operation for swine which was in existence and actively functioning on April 12, 2010.
(b) The following conditions shall constitute evidence of a farm or farm operation being a nuisance:
(1) The owner of the land or a partner, officer, director, or other principal thereof, acts in a careless or wrongful manner, engages in the improper operation of any farm or farm operation, or fails to act or perform a legal obligation.
(2) The presence of untreated or improperly treated human waste, or of garbage, offal, dead animals, dangerous waste materials, or gases which are harmful to human or animal life that are not being handled or disposed of in accordance with applicable state or federal laws and regulations.
(3) The presence of improperly built or improperly maintained septic tanks, water closets, or privies.
(4) The keeping of diseased animals that are dangerous to human health, unless the animals are kept in accordance with a current state or federal disease control program.
(5) The presence of unsanitary places where animals are slaughtered, which may give rise to diseases harmful to human or animal life.
(6) The presence on the right-of-way of any public road abutting or traversing the farm of trash, abandoned or worn out equipment, vehicles, parts or implements, other than trash, or items placed there for scheduled removal or disposal.
(c) The conditions in subsection (b) shall not, however, constitute the only evidence to be considered in determining whether a farm or farm operation being conducted thereon constitutes a nuisance.
(d) No farm or farm operation shall be deemed to be or shall become a public or private nuisance solely as a result of a change in ownership of the land on which it is located, a change in the type of farm product being produced, a change in the boundaries of the farm, a change in conditions or use of property located adjacent to or in the vicinity of the land on which the farm operation is located, or a change in the farm operation brought about in order to comply with rules and regulations and orders adopted by local, state, or federal agencies.
Last modified: May 3, 2021