House File 468 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 468 BY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE (SUCCESSOR TO HSB 134) A BILL FOR An Act providing for certain court actions involving an 1 allegation of a public or private nuisance or the 2 interference with a person’s comfortable use and enjoyment 3 of life or property caused by an animal feeding operation, 4 providing for the award of damages, costs, and expenses, and 5 including effective date provisions. 6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 7 TLSB 1745HV (1) 87 da/rj

H.F. 468 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 657.11A Animal agriculture —— 1 promotion of responsible animal feeding operations. 2 1. a. Findings. The general assembly finds that important 3 public interests are advanced by preserving and encouraging the 4 expansion of responsible animal agricultural production in this 5 state which provides employment opportunities in and economic 6 growth for rural Iowa, contributes tax revenues to the state 7 and to local communities, and protects our valuable natural 8 resources. 9 b. Purpose. The purpose of this section is to encourage 10 persons involved in animal agriculture to adopt existing 11 prudent and generally utilized management practices for their 12 animal feeding operations, thereby enhancing the fundamental 13 role of animal agriculture in this state by providing a 14 reasonable level of protection to persons engaged in animal 15 agricultural production from certain types of nuisance actions. 16 c. Declaration. The general assembly has balanced all 17 competing interests and declares its intent to preserve 18 and enhance responsible animal agricultural production, 19 specifically animal agricultural producers in this state 20 who use existing prudent and generally utilized management 21 practices reasonable for their animal feeding operations. 22 2. Except as otherwise provided by this section, an animal 23 feeding operation, as defined in section 459.102, found to 24 be a public or private nuisance under this chapter or under 25 principles of common law, or found to interfere with another 26 person’s comfortable use and enjoyment of the person’s life or 27 property under any other cause of action, shall be conclusively 28 presumed to be a permanent nuisance and not a temporary 29 or continuing nuisance under principles of common law, and 30 shall be subject to compensatory damages only as provided in 31 subsection 3. 32 3. Compensatory damages awarded to a person bringing 33 an action alleging that an animal feeding operation is a 34 public or private nuisance, or an interference with another 35 -1- LSB 1745HV (1) 87 da/rj 1/ 5

H.F. 468 person’s comfortable use and enjoyment of the person’s life or 1 property under any other cause of action, shall not exceed the 2 following: 3 a. The person’s share of compensatory property damages due 4 to any diminution in the fair market value of the person’s real 5 property proximately caused by the animal feeding operation. 6 The fair market value of the real property is deemed to equal 7 the price that a buyer who is willing but not compelled to 8 buy and a seller who is willing but not compelled to sell 9 would accept for the real property. The person’s share of any 10 compensatory property damages must be based on the person’s 11 share of the ownership interest in the real property. For 12 purposes of this section, ownership interest means holding 13 legal or equitable title to real property in fee simple, as a 14 life estate, or as a leasehold interest. 15 b. The person’s compensatory damages due to the person’s 16 past, present, and future adverse health condition. This 17 determination shall be made utilizing only objective and 18 documented medical evidence that the nuisance or interference 19 with the comfortable use and enjoyment of the person’s life or 20 property was the proximate cause of the person’s adverse health 21 condition. 22 c. The person’s compensatory special damages proximately 23 caused by the animal feeding operation, including without 24 limitation, annoyance and the loss of comfortable use and 25 enjoyment of real property. However, the total damages 26 awarded to a person who holds an ownership interest in the real 27 property for which damages are awarded under this paragraph “c” 28 shall not exceed one and one-half times the sum of any damages 29 awarded to the person for the person’s share of the total 30 compensatory property damages awarded under paragraph “a” plus 31 any compensatory damages awarded to the person under paragraph 32 “b” . 33 4. A person who alleges and fails to prove that an animal 34 feeding operation is a public or private nuisance under this 35 -2- LSB 1745HV (1) 87 da/rj 2/ 5

H.F. 468 chapter or under principles of common law, or an interference 1 with another person’s comfortable use and enjoyment of the 2 person’s life or property under any other cause of action, 3 shall be liable to the person against whom the cause of action 4 was brought for all costs and expenses, including reasonable 5 attorney fees incurred in the defense of the animal feeding 6 operation as determined by the court. The costs and expenses 7 attributable to reasonable attorney fees shall be taxed as 8 court costs. 9 5. This section shall apply to an animal feeding operation 10 in the same manner as section 657.11, subsection 4. 11 6. This section shall not apply if the person bringing 12 the action proves that the public or private nuisance or 13 interference with another person’s comfortable use and 14 enjoyment of the person’s life or property under any other 15 cause of action is proximately caused by any of the following: 16 a. The failure to comply with a federal statute or 17 regulation or a state statute or rule which applies to the 18 animal feeding operation. 19 b. The failure to use existing prudent generally utilized 20 management practices reasonable for the animal feeding 21 operation. 22 7. This section does not apply to a person during the 23 time in which the person is classified as a habitual violator 24 pursuant to section 459.604. 25 8. This section does not apply to a cause of action that 26 accrued prior to the effective date of this Act. 27 Sec. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of immediate 28 importance, takes effect upon enactment. 29 EXPLANATION 30 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 31 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 32 GENERAL. This bill allows for an affirmative defense to be 33 raised in certain cause of actions in which an animal feeding 34 operation is alleged to be a public or private nuisance or 35 -3- LSB 1745HV (1) 87 da/rj 3/ 5

H.F. 468 to otherwise interfere with a person’s comfortable use and 1 enjoyment of life or property. The cause of action may be 2 brought under Code chapter 657, which addresses private and 3 public nuisances, or under common law principles. 4 FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. The bill includes general assembly 5 findings that the public’s interests are advanced by preserving 6 and encouraging responsible animal agricultural production, 7 and states the bill’s purpose is to encourage persons involved 8 in animal agriculture to adopt existing prudent and generally 9 utilized management practices for their animal feeding 10 operations. 11 PRIVATE AND PUBLIC NUISANCE. An affirmative defense may be 12 raised if the allegation involves either a private or public 13 nuisance. A private nuisance occurs when a person (defendant) 14 uses the person’s land in a manner that unreasonably or 15 substantially interferes with the enjoyment of another person 16 (plaintiff). A public nuisance unreasonably and substantially 17 interferes with the public’s use and enjoyment of legal rights 18 common to the public. 19 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY OR CONTINUING NUISANCES. If the 20 affirmative defense prevails, the animal feeding operation is 21 conclusively deemed to be a permanent rather than a temporary 22 or continuing nuisance. A temporary or continuing nuisance 23 refers to an injury that occurs intermittently and which may 24 be the basis for a number of actions for damages claimed by 25 the same party. A permanent nuisance is expected to continue 26 indefinitely and the award is for an amount equaling the total 27 resulting damages, including future damages that may result 28 from the nuisance as it then exists. 29 LIMITATION ON DAMAGES. The affirmative defense limits 30 compensatory damages as opposed to punitive damages proximately 31 caused by the animal feeding operation and specifies three 32 categories of awards, including (1) damages for any diminution 33 in the fair market value of a person’s real property; (2) 34 damages due to a person’s past, present, and future adverse 35 -4- LSB 1745HV (1) 87 da/rj 4/ 5

H.F. 468 health condition based on medical evidence; and (3) special 1 damages for intangible injuries such as annoyance or the loss 2 of comfortable use and enjoyment of real property. In the case 3 of special damages, the total awarded cannot exceed one and 4 one-half times the combined amounts for property damages and 5 damages resulting from an adverse health condition. 6 COSTS. A party who alleges and fails to prove that an 7 animal feeding operation is a public or private nuisance is 8 liable to pay the other party all costs and expenses, including 9 reasonable attorney fees incurred in the defense. 10 DATE OF OPERATION. The affirmative defense may be raised 11 regardless of the established date of operation or expansion of 12 the animal feeding operation. 13 EXCLUSIONS. The affirmative defense is not available 14 in certain circumstances: (1) an animal feeding operation 15 failed to comply with an applicable federal or state statute 16 or regulation, (2) the animal feeding operation failed to 17 use existing prudent generally utilized management practices 18 reasonable for the animal feeding operation, (3) the animal 19 feeding operation is controlled by a person classified as a 20 habitual violator who has committed three or more environmental 21 violations, and (4) the cause of action arose before the bill’s 22 effective date. 23 EFFECTIVE DATE. The bill takes effect upon enactment. 24 -5- LSB 1745HV (1) 87 da/rj 5/ 5