"ACRE" Legislation Seen as Step Backwards
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Unfortunately, Governor Rendell signed into law the Agriculture, Communities and the Rural Environment legislation, HB 1646, on July 6, 2005, issuing a statement that the new law will protect Pennsylvania’s farmers and communities. While this new law, strongly promoted by the agribusiness lobby, will help “protect” large-scale factory farms from local restrictions, it does little to safeguard local communities from factory farm pollution or to support small, family farms. In fact, it makes it easier for factory farm interests to strike down local ordinances protecting air and water quality from pollution and force their way into communities. “The Sierra Club strongly opposed the Governor’s ACRE initiative, from the beginning,” said Jeff Schmidt, Senior Chapter Director. “We don’t accept the very premise on which it is based, namely, that large-scale animal producing facilities should be shielded from local efforts to limit their impacts on the environment and public health. We were disappointed that the Rendell Administration repeatedly ignored the concerns we raised.” The measure that Governor Rendell signed into law provides that the Attorney General may respond to any requests to review the legality of a local ordinance restricting agricultural operations. The Attorney General may, but is not required to, take action by challenging an ordinance in court. An “aggrieved” third party could also take action, based on the Attorney General’s findings. An action would proceed directly to Commonwealth Court. Attorney’s fees could be awarded if the local government enacting the ordinance were found to have adopted an ordinance in negligent disregard for the law. Widespread opposition among environmental groups, public interest and public health advocates, led to significant changes from its original form in the ACRE legislation that passed the House. The initial bill represented a much greater threat to local communities. The bill would have empowered an Agriculture Review Board to overturn any local ordinances attempting to regulate factory farms. The 5-member ARB, four of whose members would be appointed by the Governor, was seen as unaccountable and likely to make politically-motivated decisions, riding roughshod over local governments’ efforts to stave off factory farm pollution. Several amendments aimed at upholding local governments’ ability to shield sensitive areas, such as schools, churches, and life-care facilities, from incoming factory farms were denied consideration, due to unprecedented parliamentary maneuvering by the Republican House leadership. The Senate passed ACRE without amendment, as it had been sent over by the House, with a vote of 49-1. The sole opponent was Senator Connie Williams, representing portions of Delaware and Montgomery Counties. Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Secretary Wolfe and the Rendell administration tout ACRE’s environmental benefits, including the required setbacks in land application of manure from waterways, and the odor management planning required of new and expanding factory farms. These provisions are more modest than lawmakers were led to believe. First, the establishment of mandated setbacks, to limit runoff pollution from manure spreading, was already underway, through the revisions of the Nutrient Management Act and Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation regulations that have been in the works for over 2 years. And while the odor management program is new, it is not expected to address the very significant air quality problems that some of Pennsylvania’s communities face from existing operations. Only new and expanding operations are required to develop odor management plans, and those plans are only required to address facilities, not the land application of manure which is the cause of some of the serious air quality and odor problems that neighbors of factory farms are forced to live with. “Sierra Club appreciates all the hard work by our volunteers and fellow environmental and public interest advocates, who together created a climate in the House that forced improvements to ACRE,” said Schmidt. “Together, the Sierra Club, the PA Farmers Union, PennFuture and the Family Farm Coalition, and other organizations, succeeded in keeping ACRE from being a whole lot worse.” Click here to read more about the outcome Sierra Club® and "Explore,
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