§ 352.11 — Incentives for agricultural land preservation — payment of costs and fees in nuisance actions

Iowa § 352.11

• Jurisdiction: Iowa
• Title IX: LOCAL GOVERNMENT
• Ch. 352: COUNTY LAND PRESERVATION AND USE COMMISSIONS

Text

nuisance actions.
1. Nuisance restriction.
a. A farm or farm operation located in an agricultural area shall not be found to be a
nuisance regardless of the established date of operation or expansion of the agricultural
activities of the farm or farm operation. This paragraph shall apply to a farm operation
conducted within an agricultural area for six years following the exclusion of land within an
agricultural area other than by withdrawal as provided in section 352.9.
b. Paragraph “a” does not apply to a nuisance which is the result of a farm operation
determined to be in violation of a federal statute or regulation or state statute or rule.
Paragraph “a” does not apply if the nuisance results from the negligent operation of the
farm or farm operation. Paragraph “a” does not apply to actions or proceedings arising from
injury or damage to a person or property caused by the farm or a farm operation before
the creation of the agricultural area. Paragraph “a” does not affect or defeat the right of a
person to recover damages for an injury or damage sustained by the person because of the
pollution or change in condition of the waters of a stream, the overflowing of the person’s
land, or excessive soil erosion onto another person’s land, unless the injury or damage is
caused by an act of God.
c. A person shall not bring an action or proceeding based on a claim of nuisance arising
fromafarmoperationunlessthepersonproceedswithmediationasprovidedinchapter654B.
d. If a defendant is a prevailing party in an action or proceeding based on a claim of
nuisance and arising from a farm operation conducted on farmland within an agricultural
area, the plaintiff shall pay court costs and reasonable attorney fees incurred by the
defendant, if the court determines that the claim is frivolous.
2. Water priority. In the application for a permit to divert, store, or withdraw water and
in the allocation of available water resources under a water permit system, the department of
naturalresourcesshallgiveprioritytotheuseofwaterresourcesbyafarmorfarmoperation,
exclusiveofirrigation, locatedinanagriculturalareaoverallotherusesexceptthecompeting
uses of water for ordinary household purposes.
[82 Acts, ch 1245, §12]
C83, §93A.11