A. Agricultural activities conducted on farm or ranch land, if consistent with generally accepted agricultural practices and established prior to nearby nonagricultural activities, are rebuttably presumed to be reasonable and do not constitute a nuisance unless the activity has a substantial adverse effect on the public health and safety. If agricultural activity is undertaken in conformity with federal, state and local laws and regulations, it is rebuttably presumed to be good agricultural practice and not adversely affecting the public health and safety. No action for nuisance shall be brought against agricultural activities on farm or ranch land that have lawfully been in operation for two (2) years or more prior to the date of bringing the action. The established date of operation is the date on which an agricultural activity on farm or ranch land commenced.
B. If physical facilities engaged in operation of the agricultural activity or the farm or ranch are subsequently expanded or new technology adopted, the established date of operation for each change is not a separately and independently established date of operation and commencement of the expanded activity does not divest the farm or ranch of a previously established date of operation.
C. The presumption that agricultural activities are not a nuisance may be rebutted and overcome by sufficient positive evidence that some part of all of such activities create or cause a substantial adverse effect on the public health and safety. In any action for nuisance in which agricultural activities are alleged to be a nuisance, and which action is found to be frivolous by the court, the defendant shall recover from the plaintiff the aggregate amount of costs and expenses determined by the court to have been reasonably incurred in connection with defending the action, together with a reasonable amount for attorney fees.
D. This section does not relieve agricultural activities of the duty to abide by state and federal laws, including, but not limited to, the Oklahoma concentrated animal feeding operations act and the Oklahoma registered poultry feeding operations act. (Ord. 646, 3-21-2011)