This text of Iowa § 657.11A (Animal agriculture — promotion of responsible animal feeding operations) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.
1.
a.Findings. The general assembly finds that important public interests are advanced
by preserving and encouraging the expansion of responsible animal agricultural production
inthisstatewhichprovidesemploymentopportunitiesinandeconomicgrowthforruralIowa,
contributes tax revenues to the state and to local communities, and protects our valuable
natural resources.
b.Purpose. The purpose of this section is to encourage persons involved in animal
agriculture to adopt existing prudent and generally utilized management practices for their
animal feeding operations, thereby enhancing the fundamental role of animal agriculture
in this state by providing a reasonable level of protection to persons engaged in animal
agricultural production from certain types of nuisance actions.
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1. a. Findings. The general assembly finds that important public interests are advanced
by preserving and encouraging the expansion of responsible animal agricultural production
inthisstatewhichprovidesemploymentopportunitiesinandeconomicgrowthforruralIowa,
contributes tax revenues to the state and to local communities, and protects our valuable
natural resources.
b. Purpose. The purpose of this section is to encourage persons involved in animal
agriculture to adopt existing prudent and generally utilized management practices for their
animal feeding operations, thereby enhancing the fundamental role of animal agriculture
in this state by providing a reasonable level of protection to persons engaged in animal
agricultural production from certain types of nuisance actions.
c. Declaration. The general assembly has balanced all competing interests and declares
its intent to preserve and enhance responsible animal agricultural production, specifically
animal agricultural producers in this state who use existing prudent and generally utilized
management practices reasonable for their animal feeding operations.
2. Except as otherwise provided by this section, an animal feeding operation, as defined
in section 459.102, found to be a public or private nuisance under this chapter or under
§657.11A, NUISANCES 6
principles of common law, or found to interfere with another person’s comfortable use
and enjoyment of the person’s life or property under any other cause of action, shall be
conclusively presumed to be a permanent nuisance and not a temporary or continuing
nuisance under principles of common law, and shall be subject to compensatory damages
only as provided in subsection 3.
3. Compensatory damages awarded to a person bringing an action alleging that an
animal feeding operation is a public or private nuisance, or an interference with the person’s
comfortable use and enjoyment of the person’s life or property under any other cause of
action, shall not exceed the following:
a. The person’s share of compensatory property damages due to any diminution in the
fair market value of the person’s real property proximately caused by the animal feeding
operation. The fair market value of the real property is deemed to equal the price that a
buyer who is willing but not compelled to buy and a seller who is willing but not compelled
to sell would accept for the real property. The person’s share of any compensatory property
damages must be based on the person’s share of the ownership interest in the real property.
For purposes of this section, ownership interest means holding legal or equitable title to real
property in fee simple, as a life estate, or as a leasehold interest.
b. The person’s compensatory damages due to the person’s past, present, and future
adverse health condition. This determination shall be made utilizing only objective and
documented medical evidence that the nuisance or interference with the comfortable use
and enjoyment of the person’s life or property was the proximate cause of the person’s
adverse health condition.
c. The person’s compensatory special damages proximately caused by the animal feeding
operation, including without limitation, annoyance and the loss of comfortable use and
enjoyment of real property. However, the total damages awarded to a person under this
paragraph “c” shall not exceed one and one-half times the sum of any damages awarded to
the person for the person’s share of the total compensatory property damages awarded under
paragraph “a” plus any compensatory damages awarded to the person under paragraph “b”.
4. This section shall apply to an animal feeding operation in the same manner as section
657.11, subsections 4 and 5.
5. This section shall not apply if the person bringing the action proves that the public or
private nuisance or interference with another person’s comfortable use and enjoyment of the
person’s life or property under any other cause of action is proximately caused by any of the
following:
a. The failure to comply with a federal statute or regulation or a state statute or rule which
applies to the animal feeding operation.
b. The failure to use existing prudent generally utilized management practices reasonable
for the animal feeding operation.
6. This section does not apply to a person during the time in which the person is classified
as a habitual violator pursuant to section 459.604.
7. This section does not apply to a cause of action that accrued prior to March 29, 2017.