The NC Senate voted to override the veto of House Bill 467, "Agricultural and Forestry Nuisance Remedies," this afternoon (Thursday, May 11). This measure limits the discretion of the courts to compensate landowners who have suffered a loss of use or value of their property due to neighboring farming or forestry activities. This would include odor from industrial hog operations.
House Bill 467 seems primarily intended to limit the ability of North Carolinians to seek redress in the courts for harm caused by neighboring factory hog farms in North Carolina.
Many of North Carolina’s large-scale hog operations store millions of gallons of hog waste in open-air lagoons. As permitted by state regulations, the waste is periodically sprayed onto fields, but can drift onto neighboring properties. Many North Carolina families, some of whose residence preceded a factory hog farm being built on neighboring property, report suffering from odors and fumes. This is despite state regulations intended to address odor. House Bill 467 will limit the discretion of judges to compensate these landowners in nuisance cases.
Molly Diggins, State Director for the NC Sierra Club, had this to say:
"We appreciate that, by vetoing this measure, the governor took a stand to protect the property rights of all North Carolinians to use and enjoy their properties no matter where they live. Industries sometimes cause environmental nuisances and all should be held to the same standard. It is extremely disappointing the the legislature has acted to overturn the veto in order to provide special treatment to a powerful industry.
"We hope the override vote isn’t the start to a slippery slope that will lead to special treatment for other favored industries at the expense of regular North Carolinians and a clean environment."