“House Bill 467, “AN ACT TO CLARIFY THE REMEDIES AVAILABLE IN PRIVATE NUISANCE ACTIONS AGAINST AGRICULTURAL AND FORESTRY OPERATIONS”
The agriculture and forestry industries are vital to our economy and we should encourage them to thrive.
But nuisance laws can be used to protect property rights and make changes for good. We used nuisance laws to force the Tennessee Valley Authority to stop air pollution from flowing into North Carolina and we won damages to improve air quality.
Special protection for one industry opens the door to weakening our nuisance laws in other areas which can allow real harm to homeowners, the environment and everyday North Carolinians.
Therefore, I veto the bill.”
-Roy Cooper, Governor of the State of North Carolina
HB 467 is a bill that shields polluters and deprives their victims of legal rights. It would change nuisance laws that have been in existence for hundreds of years, and those changes would primarily harm residents in low-income areas and communities of color in NC. HB 467 limits the amount of recoverable compensatory damages to the value of your property should you file a nuisance lawsuit, a property value already reduced from proximity to a hog farm.
“HB467 was like salt being thrown into the wounds of families who have been suffering from the smells and other nuisances coming from industrial hog operations in eastern North Carolina. We’re pleased to see the governor standing up for communities of color, who are particularly affected by this.”
-Naeema Muhammad, NCEJN Organizing Co-Director
Read more details about Cooper’s HB467 Veto and a new court document about evidence of hog fecal bacteria found on neighboring properties HERE!
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