SB 5962 -
By Senators Haugen, Rasmussen, Jacobsen, Schoesler, Kline
ADOPTED 03/10/2005
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 A new section is added to chapter 7.48 RCW
to read as follows:
(1)(a) If a farmer prevails in any action, claim, or counterclaim
that alleges agricultural activity on a farm to be a nuisance, or that
is based on an unverified complaint, the farmer may recover the full
amount of costs and expenses determined by the court to have been
reasonably incurred by the farmer in defending against the action,
claim, or counterclaim. Such costs and expenses may include:
(i) Actual damages, including lost revenue and the replacement
value of crops or livestock damaged or unable to be harvested or sold
as a result of the action, claim, or counterclaim; and
(ii) Reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.
(b) If the court finds that the action, claim, or counterclaim was
initiated maliciously and without probable cause, the farmer may also
recover exemplary damages.
(2) A court may order the person making an unverified complaint to
pay the investigating agency its full investigative costs.
(3) As used in this section, "unverified complaint" means a
complaint filed by a person in which agricultural activity on a farm is
alleged to have violated specified laws, rules, or ordinances and upon
investigation the investigating agency or a court determines that the
farm is in conformity with the specified laws, rules, or ordinances
allegedly violated and the complaint was unfounded at the time it was
initiated.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 A new section is added to chapter 64.06 RCW
to read as follows:
A seller of real property located within one mile of the property
boundary of a farm or farm operation shall make available to the buyer
the following statement: "This notice is to inform prospective
residents that the real property they are about to acquire lies within
one mile of the property boundary of a farm. The farm may generate
usual and ordinary noise, dust, odors, and other associated conditions,
and these practices are protected by the Washington right to farm act."
Sec. 3 RCW 70.94.640 and 1981 c 297 s 30 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) Odors or fugitive dust caused by agricultural activity
consistent with good agricultural practices on agricultural land are
exempt from the requirements of this chapter unless they have a
substantial adverse effect on public health. In determining whether
agricultural activity is consistent with good agricultural practices,
the department of ecology or board of any authority shall consult with
a recognized third-party expert in the activity prior to issuing any
notice of violation.
(2) Any notice of violation issued under this chapter pertaining to
odors or fugitive dust caused by agricultural activity shall include a
statement as to why the activity is inconsistent with good agricultural
practices, or a statement that the odors or fugitive dust have
substantial adverse effect on public health.
(3) In any appeal to the pollution control hearings board or any
judicial appeal, the agency issuing a final order pertaining to odors
or fugitive dust caused by agricultural activity shall prove the
activity is inconsistent with good agricultural practices or that the
odors or fugitive dust have a substantial adverse impact on public
health.
(4) If a person engaged in agricultural activity on a contiguous
piece of agricultural land sells or has sold a portion of that land for
residential purposes, the exemption of this section shall not apply.
(5) As used in this section:
(a) "Agricultural activity" means the growing, raising, or
production of horticultural or viticultural crops, berries, poultry,
livestock, grain, mint, hay, and dairy products.
(b) "Good agricultural practices" means economically feasible
practices which are customary among or appropriate to farms and ranches
of a similar nature in the local area.
(c) "Agricultural land" means at least five acres of land devoted
primarily to the commercial production of livestock or agricultural
commodities.
(d) "Fugitive dust" means a particulate emission made airborne by
human activity, forces of wind, or both, and which do not pass through
a stack, chimney, vent, or other functionally equivalent opening.
(6) The exemption for fugitive dust provided in subsection (1) of
this section does not apply to facilities subject to RCW 70.94.151 as
specified in WAC 173-400-100 as of the effective date of this act,
70.94.152, or 70.94.161."
SB 5962 -
By Senators Haugen, Rasmussen, Jacobsen, Schoesler, Kline
ADOPTED 03/10/2005
On page 1, line 1 of the title, after "practices;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "amending RCW 70.94.640; adding a new section to chapter 7.48 RCW; and adding a new section to chapter 64.06 RCW."