North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper vetoed a controversial bill that would have made it nearly impossible for neighbors of factory farms to sue farming operations for negative quality of life and health outcomes associated with living near large livestock confinements. The bill was strongly supported by the agriculture industry and opposed by many state and national environmental, animal, and social justice groups. The bill arrives as a series of lawsuits challenges the status quo of large-scale hog farming in North Carolina.
“While agriculture is vital to North Carolina’s economy, so property rights are vital to people’s homes and other businesses,” Gov. Cooper said in a statement. “Our laws must balance the needs of businesses versus property rights. Giving one industry special treatment at the expense of its neighbors is unfair.”
The bill, S. 711, would have amended the state’s right-to-farm law to require plaintiffs to sue for damages within a year of the farm’s establishment and for the farm to have a code violation in order for plaintiffs to receive damages. It was introduced after a series of lawsuits were brought against hog companies in North Carolina, namely Murphy-Brown, which is owned by WH Group’s Smithfield Foods, the largest pork producer in the country. The lawsuits alleged that the company was mismanaging hog manure by storing it in open-air lagoons and spraying untreated manure into the air, damaging residents’ health and ability to use their properties.
Gov. Cooper last year vetoed an earlier amendment to the state’s right to farm law, but his veto was overridden by the state legislature. The law now restricts how much money property owners can win in nuisance cases against farms.