[Adopted 7-23-2012, effective 8-23-2012]
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Right to
Farm Ordinance."
This article is enacted pursuant to §§
1-1, 7-148 and 19a-341(a) and (c) of the Connecticut General Statutes.
The terms "agriculture and "farming" shall have all those meanings
set forth in § 1-1(q), as amended, of the Connecticut General
Statutes.
Notwithstanding any general statute or municipal ordinance or
regulation pertaining to nuisances to the contrary, no agricultural
or farming operation, place, establishment or facility within the
Town of Mansfield, or any of its appurtenances, or the operation thereof
shall be deemed to constitute a nuisance, either public or private,
due to alleged objectionable 1) odor from livestock, manure, fertilizer
or feed, 2) noise from livestock or farm equipment used in normal,
generally accepted farming procedures, 3) dust created during plowing
or cultivation operations, 4) use of chemicals, provided such chemicals
and the method of their application conform to practices approved
by the Connecticut Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection
or, where applicable, the Commissioner of Public Health, or 5) water
pollution from livestock or crop production activities, except the
pollution of public or private drinking water supplies, provided such
activities conform to acceptable management practices for pollution
control approved by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection;
provided such agricultural or farming operation, place, establishment
or facility has been in operation for one year or more and has not
been substantially changed, and such operation follows generally accepted
agricultural practices. Inspection and approval of the agricultural
or farming operation, place, establishment, or facility by the Commissioner
of Agriculture or his designee shall be prima facie evidence that
such operation follows generally accepted agricultural practices.
The provisions of this article shall not apply whenever a nuisance
results from willful or reckless misconduct in the operation of any
such agricultural or farming operation, place, establishment or facility,
or any of its appurtenances.