Committee reviews draft to tighten and clarify nuisance protections for agricultural activities

Members of the Legislature's judiciary committee and staff discussed a draft statute that would change how Vermont courts treat nuisance claims against agricultural activities, including shifting the burden of proof to neighbors and requiring a mediation step before bringing suit. The committee reviewed provisions that would remove the current rebuttable-presumption language, preserve nuisance protection for activities conducted under generally accepted agricultural practices, and require a certificate of “good standing” from state agencies to claim that protection.

Why it matters: The draft would make it harder for neighbors to prevail in nuisance suits by requiring plaintiffs to prove a farm is not following accepted practices and by directing courts to treat properly conducted agricultural activities as non-nuisance. Supporters say the changes protect agricultural viability as farms adopt new technologies and change operations; opponents warn the language could bar neighbors from remedies and could exclude farmers who are actively working with agencies to remediate violations.

The draft would do several things at once. It removes language describing a “rebuttable presumption” that a longstanding agricultural use is not a nuisance and replaces it with an express statement that an agricultural activity “shall not be or become a nuisance” when conducted in accordance with generally accepted agricultural practices (GAPs). Those GAPs are defined in the draft to include compliance with the state’s required agricultural practices (RAPs), concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) permits where applicable, and pesticide rules. The draft also…