Hawaii Right to Farm Act: Nuisance Protection for Agriculture

The Hawaii Right to Farm Act, codified at HRS Chapter 165, declares that farming operations conducted on land zoned for agriculture and operating in conformance with generally accepted agricultural practices shall not be deemed a nuisance after one year of operation, provided the operation was not a nuisance when it began. The law protects farms from suits brought by neighbors who later move near established agricultural operations and seek to restrain ordinary farm activity such as noise, odor, dust, or pesticide use. Plaintiffs must prove the operation has substantially changed in nature or has not adhered to accepted practices. The statute does not protect operations from public nuisance suits or from environmental enforcement under other statutes. It applies statewide regardless of which county the farm is located in.

Nuisance suits filed contrary to HRS 165 may be dismissed; willful agricultural pollution remains actionable under environmental law.