Ohio Code 939.03 – Operation and management plan; nuisances; complaint
(A) A person who owns or operates agricultural land or an animal feeding operation may develop and operate under an operation and management plan approved by the director of agriculture or the director’s designee under section 939.02 of the Revised Code or by the supervisors of the applicable soil and water conservation district under section 940.06 of the Revised Code.
Terms Used In Ohio Code 939.03
- Agricultural pollution: means failure to use management or conservation practices in farming operations to abate wind or water erosion of the soil or to abate the degradation of the waters of the state by residual farm products, manure, or soil sediment, including attached substances. See Ohio Code 939.01
- agriculture: includes farming; ranching; aquaculture; algaculture meaning the farming of algae; apiculture and related apicultural activities, production of honey, beeswax, honeycomb, and other related products; horticulture; viticulture, winemaking, and related activities; animal husbandry, including, but not limited to, the care and raising of livestock, equine, and fur-bearing animals; poultry husbandry and the production of poultry and poultry products; dairy production; the production of field crops, tobacco, fruits, vegetables, nursery stock, ornamental shrubs, ornamental trees, flowers, sod, or mushrooms; timber; pasturage; any combination of the foregoing; the processing, drying, storage, and marketing of agricultural products when those activities are conducted in conjunction with, but are secondary to, such husbandry or production; and any additions or modifications to the foregoing made by the director of agriculture by rule adopted in accordance with Chapter 119 of the Revised Code. See Ohio Code 1.61
- Animal feeding operation: means the production area, as defined in section 903. See Ohio Code 939.01
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Conservation: means the wise use and management of natural resources. See Ohio Code 939.01
- Operation and management plan: means a written record, developed or approved by the director of agriculture, the director's designee, or the board of supervisors of a soil and water conservation district, for the owner or operator of agricultural land or an animal feeding operation that contains both of the following:
(1) Implementation schedules and operational procedures for a level of management and pollution abatement practices that will abate the degradation of the waters of the state by residual farm products, manure, and soil sediment, including attached pollutants;
(2) Best management practices that are to be used by the owner or operator. See Ohio Code 939.01
- Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
(B) A person who wishes to make a complaint regarding nuisances involving agricultural pollution may do so orally or by submitting a written, signed, and dated complaint to the director or to the director’s designee. After receiving an oral complaint, the director or the director’s designee may cause an investigation to be conducted to determine whether agricultural pollution has occurred or is imminent. After receiving a written, signed, and dated complaint, the director or the director’s designee shall cause such an investigation to be conducted.
(C) In a private civil action for nuisances involving agricultural pollution, it is an affirmative defense if the person owning, operating, or otherwise responsible for agricultural land or an animal feeding operation is operating under and in substantial compliance with an approved operation and management plan developed under division (A) of this section, with an operation and management plan developed by the director or the director’s designee under section 939.02 of the Revised Code or by the supervisors of the applicable soil and water conservation district under section 940.06 of the Revised Code, or with an operation and management plan required under division (A)(2) of section 939.02 of the Revised Code. Nothing in this section is in derogation of the authority granted to the director in division (E) of section 939.02 and in section 939.07 of the Revised Code.