
The unjust verdict of pig farmer Szymon Kluka has not died down. Another farmer has already contacted us, this time a poultry farmer, who fears complaints from neighbours, restrictions on production and court rulings due to odour nuisance.
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Farmer must pay compensation. Neighbors are bothered by smells from the pigsty
This time, Farmer.pl was contacted by a breeder who owns a farm with 9,000 turkeys. He is afraid of complaints related to odor nuisance, which could affect his breeding.
It turns out that his farm and holding are slowly but surely being approached by residential development. More and more neighbors are unhappy with the proximity of such a large farm due to the odor, insects, flies and… stench.
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Siekierski: Szymon Kluka's case is very difficult, he needs help
The poultry farm, which has been operating since 1979, is being approached by residential development and there are more and more complaints
The turkey breeder emphasized that his farm was built in 1979, in accordance with the Local Spatial Development Plan (MPZP).
I kindly ask the Fermer Editorial Office to explain to me the matter concerning the proximity of residential buildings to the area of the turkey farm, which was built in 1979 and is used according to the plan, in accordance with its intended purpose – wrote a breeder from Podkarpacie in the letter.
It is the neighbors who are building or will build houses around his farm who are starting to complain about odor nuisance.
Next to the building of the turkey farm, which has 9 thousand turkeys, single-family houses are to be built in the neighbor's field and I would like to get some information. How close can they get to the farm or the border with their construction so that there is no misunderstanding that it is making it difficult for the residents of the new houses to have an annoying smell, stench, as well as insects and flies – emphasizes the breeder from Podkarpacie.
A turkey farmer is concerned about complaints about odor nuisance, which could limit production. He asked our editorial team for help.
I am asking for clarification on this matter, because city dwellers want to live in the countryside, but the smell of farming and the aroma of the countryside bothers them and makes production difficult – asks a farmer from the Podkarpackie province.
We therefore asked experts from the Ministry of Culture and Environment what a poultry farmer can do to fulfil his obligations so that he is not forced to limit poultry production.
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Wojciechowski: The Szymon Kluka case may affect the entire agriculture sector
The farm was built in accordance with the law and the local spatial development plan, but there will be new general plans that can change everything
As reported by the Ministry of Culture and Environment, the legal issues raised in the questions from the breeder concern spatial planning and development issues.
Due to the lack of local spatial development plans in most areas of Poland (currently only about 30% of the country's area is covered by the so-called local plan), social conflicts may occur due to the interpenetration of functions of areas – experts from the Ministry of Culture and Environment told us.
In accordance with the amended provisions of the Act on Spatial Planning and Development, each commune is obliged to prepare and adopt a general commune plan by 1 January 2026.
The bodies responsible for spatial planning and development can more precisely define development zones and locate various types of investments, including livestock buildings – experts from the Ministry of Climate and Environment emphasize.
Such an authority has two options for designating planning zones where large-scale agricultural production is permitted in the profile:
- a multifunctional zone with farm buildings, where an area of large-scale agricultural production can be introduced in the additional profile,
- agricultural production zone, where large-scale agricultural production is permitted in the basic profile.
In the process of creating a general plan, taking into account the appropriate planning zones along with the minimum distance from residential development zones, it is possible to significantly limit the interpenetration of different functions. Thanks to this, it is possible to limit spatial conflicts that accompany the close proximity of farm buildings to residential buildings – emphasize experts from the Ministry of Culture and Environment.
However, as the common saying goes, "every stick has two ends", newly approved general plans of municipalities do not necessarily have to protect agricultural production, especially if there are many residential buildings around smaller farms.
It may turn out that officials approving general municipal plans can, after all, change the intended use of land from agricultural and livestock production to residential use.
In some places, such as Wrocław, changes to general plans are already being approved, which change the intended use of agricultural land and agricultural production to residential functions, even though such agricultural land may be fertile.
Wealthy developers and investors have more room to maneuver as they can encourage and influence municipal offices to change the designation of agricultural land to construction land in general plans.
That is why we in the editorial office believe that the new general plans do not necessarily have to be beneficial for our breeder in his commune.
Such general plans can be approved by offices to the detriment of farmers and smaller breeders and reclassify their agricultural land for residential development.
Okay, but our breeder asked how he can protect himself by separating himself from this residential development?
A strip of greenery separating farm buildings from residential buildings. Who is responsible for it?
In accordance with the published regulation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on technical conditions "Technical conditions to be met by agricultural buildings and their location", Article 13 of this regulation states:
Location of agricultural buildings that are burdensome to the environment
Art. 13 Agricultural structures that are burdensome for the surroundings, in particular due to dust, odours or the release of toxic substances, should be isolated from adjacent areas by a green belt composed of medium and high-growing vegetation.
But who is to build this green belt? A developer, a building plot owner or a breeder? After all, someone bought the plot for the construction of single-family houses next to a poultry farm. He was aware that poultry farming was carried out in this area and the associated odor nuisance, so why did he decide to buy (probably cheaper) land.
It is the developer or the owner of the building plot who should take care of separating the residential buildings from the farm. Why do we think so?
Because the developer is just starting to build, and the agricultural facilities were built 45 years ago, when there were no houses or residential buildings in this agricultural area.
But how wide should such a strip be? And should the breeder participate in the costs of its construction? We asked experts from the Ministry of Culture and Environment about this.
What did the experts from the Ministry of Culture and Environment tell us:
The interpretation of the regulation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on the technical conditions for agricultural buildings is beyond the scope of competence of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
That is why we have asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to clarify this issue and we will publish it in a subsequent article.
How close to a turkey farm can residential buildings be, according to current law?
According to the guidelines of the Ministry of Culture and Environment and the draft act on the minimum distance for planned agricultural sector projects, this minimum distance should be approximately 500 m, but there is only a recommended distance.
Let's remember that this principle should work mutually, not only for newly built farms, but also for residential buildings. What does this mean?
This means that if single-family houses or terraced houses are built next to a farm, the developer should also respect the minimum distance of 500 m.
The act on the minimum distance for the planned agricultural sector undertaking was not approved, passed by the Sejm and Senate and did not reach the signature of the President of the Republic of Poland. It simply got stuck in the legislative freezer.
That is why we asked the Ministry of Culture and Environment whether there are plans to return to approving the draft bill?
Currently, environmental protection regulations do not specify a minimum distance for animal breeding and husbandry projects from residential buildings. The draft odor law prepared in 2021 assumed that such a minimum distance should be from 200 m to 500 m – depending on the size of the project, converted into Large Conversion Units (LU). However, the legislative process of the act has not been completed – emphasize experts from the Ministry of Culture and Environment.
And they add:
Currently, at the Ministry of Climate and Environment, we are planning to commission an expert opinion entitled: "Analysis and determination of odor concentration emission levels for selected industries and projects that may cause odor nuisance", which will be used to prepare a comprehensive legal solution regulating the phenomenon of odor nuisance. The legislative process is scheduled to begin in 2025.
So at this point we can only recommend to turkey breeders, just like the experts from the Ministry of Culture and Environment, that the distance from his farm to residential buildings should not be less than 500 m. However, this distance is not sanctioned by any legal regulations.
According to the expert opinion of the Ministry of Culture and Environment "Safe distances from buildings for undertakings whose operation is associated with the risk of odour nuisance", a minimum distance of 500 m has been recommended, e.g. for farms from 210 DJP, i.e. from 8,750 turkeys. This recommendation therefore applies to the described turkey farm. However, it is still only a recommendation, not legally binding.
In relation to the agricultural sector (farming and breeding of farm animals), attention was drawn to the existing draft act on the minimum distance for a planned agricultural sector undertaking, the functioning of which may be associated with the risk of odour nuisance and the assumptions adopted therein regarding the determination of the minimum distance from buildings depending on the number of animals, expressed in DJP (Large Conversion Units) as a linear function in the range from 210 (i.e. from 8750 turkeys) to 500 DJP. This function in fact takes the form of a power function, which results from psychophysical laws, which also refer to the sense of smell. In the case of this sector, it was proposed to adopt a constant, minimum distance (equal to 500 m), determined on the basis of empirical studies described in the literature on the subject.
However, this does not necessarily mean that our breeder is safe…
Official complaints filed by residents may actually limit the production of a poultry farm.
Unfortunately, our poultry farmer is still subject to the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act, which includes:
- art. 362 sec. 1, which enables the environmental protection authority (starosta or voivodship marshal), in the event that an entity using the environment has a negative impact on the environment, to impose, by way of a decision, the obligation to limit its impact on the environment and, in the event of deterioration of the environment caused by the entity's activity, to restore the environment to its proper state;
- Article 363, which enables the head of a commune, mayor or city president, by way of a decision, to order a natural person whose activities have a negative impact on the environment to perform, within a specified period of time, actions aimed at limiting the negative impact on the environment?
So we asked the Ministry of Culture and Environment whether the residents' complaints would result in the breeder having to limit his activities in accordance with the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act (POŚ)?
In the case of burdensome activity and negative impact of the installation on the environment, environmental protection authorities may use legal instruments provided for in the Environmental Protection Law to limit the negative impact. Depending on the type of undertaking, the environmental protection authority is the voivodeship marshal or the district head or the commune head, mayor, city president – experts from the Ministry of Climate and Environment emphasized.
Therefore, if residents file official complaints, the municipal authorities may limit its production by means of an administrative decision.
Moreover, Articles 362 and 363 of the Environmental Protection Act allow environmental protection authorities to impose an obligation to limit the impact on the environment by using appropriate technical or organizational solutions. Which means potentially additional costs for the turkey breeder.
On the other hand, pursuant to Article 237 of the EPL Act, the entity operating the installation may be required to prepare and submit an ecological review. The ecological review should determine the causes of the occurrence of a noticeable negative impact on the environment, including odour nuisance, and propose solutions that will contribute to solving the problem of odour nuisance in a given area – summarize experts from the Ministry of Climate and Environment.
We do not have good news for turkey farmers and the entire poultry industry.
Unfortunately, the answers of experts from the Ministry of Culture and Environment clearly show that poultry farmers are also exposed to production restrictions due to the growing residential development. And unfortunately, the fact that the farm was built in accordance with the building law and the MPZP will not fully protect farmers, including smaller farmers.
It turns out that the provisions contained in the EPL Act provide tools and legal instruments to complaining homeowners, who can direct complaints to the municipal authorities. And then the voivodeship marshal or the county head or the mayor, mayor, city president can simply limit production by decision.
And as we know, in these times, when the profitability of agricultural production is falling, this is a proverbial "death sentence" for breeders.