Pennsylvania Statewide Rule
Pennsylvania Right to Farm Act (Act 133 of 1982)
Key Facts
- Legal Reference
- Statute: 3 P.S. §951–957 (Act 133 of 1982)
- Protects Operations
- Protects ag operations 1+ year established
- Presumption Against Nuisance
- Presumption against nuisance for normal ag practices
- Municipalities Cannot Restrict
- Municipalities cannot restrict normal ag activities
- Covers Crops, Livestock,
- Covers crops, livestock, forestry, aquaculture
- Attorney General May
- Attorney General may sue municipalities for non-compliance
Summary
Pennsylvania's Right to Farm Act (Act 133 of 1982, 3 P.S. §951 et seq.) protects established agricultural operations from local nuisance lawsuits and overly restrictive municipal ordinances. Operations in existence for at least one year and following normal agricultural practices are presumed not to be a nuisance. Municipalities cannot enact ordinances that restrict normal ag activities.
No nuisance action shall be brought against an agricultural operation which has lawfully been in operation for one year or more prior to the date of bringing such action, where the conditions or circumstances complained of as constituting the basis for the nuisance action have existed substantially unchanged since the established date of operation and are normal agricultural operations, or if the physical facilities of such agricultural operations are substantially expanded or substantially altered and the expanded or substantially altered facility has either: (1) been in operation for one year or more prior to the date of bringing such action, or (2) been addressed in a nutrient management plan approved prior to the commencement of such expanded or altered operation pursuant to section 6 of the act of May 20, 1993 (P.L.12, No.6), known as the Nutrient Management Act, and is otherwise in compliance therewith
Full Breakdown
, is one of the oldest state farm-protection statutes in the country. The Act provides that "agricultural operations", defined broadly to include crop production, livestock, poultry, dairying, forestry, aquaculture, and direct-marketing, that have been in operation for one year or more and follow generally accepted normal agricultural operating practices may not be deemed a public or private nuisance based on changed conditions in or around the operation. §954 also limits the power of municipalities: no ordinance may define or enforce as a public nuisance any agricultural operation lawfully conducted, and any ordinance restricting "direct commercial sales" of farm products on the farm itself is presumptively invalid.
The Pennsylvania Attorney General is empowered under §954(b) to bring action against municipalities that adopt unauthorized ordinances. Amendments through Act 38 of 2005 further strengthened protections for Concentrated Animal Operations (CAOs) and authorized farmer recovery of attorney's fees in successful preemption challenges.
Violations & Penalties
A municipality that adopts an ordinance violating the Right to Farm Act may be sued by the PA Attorney General, by farm operators, or by the State Conservation Commission. Successful farmers may recover attorney's fees under 3 P.S. §954. Nuisance suits against protected operations may be dismissed with prejudice and the plaintiff may be liable for the farmer's legal fees if the suit is found to violate the Act.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my township ban farm noise or smells?
What if I move next to a farm and don't like the smell?
Does the Act protect direct farm-to-consumer sales?
Sources
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