Sec. 22a-354m. Farm resources management plans.
Sec. 22a-354m. Farm resources management plans. (a) The Commissioner of
Environmental Protection may, in accordance with regulations adopted pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, require any person engaged in agriculture on land located
within an aquifer protection area and whose annual gross sales from agricultural products
during the preceding calendar year were two thousand five hundred dollars or more to
submit a farm resources management plan.
(b) The soil and water conservation district where the aquifer protection area is
located shall establish and coordinate a technical team to develop each plan. Such team
shall include a representative of the municipality in which the land is located and a
representative of any affected water company upon request of such municipality or
water company. For the purposes of developing the plan required pursuant to this section,
if a farm is located in two or more soil and water conservation districts, the district in
which the greater part of such farm is located shall be deemed to be the district in
which the entire farm is located. In developing a plan, a district shall consult with the
Commissioners of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at The University of Connecticut, the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, the Soil Conservation Service, the state Agricultural and Conservation Committee and any other person or agency the district deems appropriate.
(c) The plan shall include a schedule for implementation and shall be periodically
updated as required by the commissioner. In developing a schedule for implementation,
the technical team shall consider technical and economic factors including, but not
limited to, the availability of state and federal funds. Any person engaged in agriculture
in substantial compliance with a plan approved under this section shall be exempt from
regulations adopted under section 22a-354o by a municipality in which the land is located. No plan shall be required to be submitted to the commissioner before July 1,
1992, or six months after completion of level B mapping where the farm is located,
whichever is later.
(d) On or before July 1, 1999, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, in
consultation with the Commissioner of Agriculture, the United States Soil Conservation
Service, the Cooperative Extension Service at The University of Connecticut and the
Council for Soil and Water Conservation, shall publish notice of intent to adopt regulations in accordance with chapter 54 for farm resources management plans. Such regulations shall include, but not be limited to, a priority system and procedures for determining
if a farm management plan is required and the priority that is assigned to the preparation
of such a plan, best management practices, restrictions and prohibitions for manure
management, storage and handling of pesticides, reduced use of pesticides through pest
management practices, integrated pest management, fertilizer management and underground and above-ground storage tanks and criteria and procedures for submission and
review of farm resources management plans and amendments of such plans. In adopting
such best management practices, restrictions and prohibitions, the commissioner shall
consider existing state and federal guidelines or regulations affecting aquifers and agricultural resources management.
(P.A. 89-305, S. 6, 32; P.A. 90-275, S. 3, 9; P.A. 98-209, S. 10; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 146(e); P.A. 04-189,
S. 1.)
History: P.A. 90-275 increased the annual gross sales requirement from $1,000 to $2,500, provided if a farm is located
in two or more districts that the district in which the greater part of the farm is located shall be deemed to be the district
in which the entire farm is located, extended the earliest time in which a plan is required to July 1, 1992, provided that the
commissioner shall publish notice of intent to adopt regulations concerning farm resources management plans on or before
July 1, 1991, and required the regulations to include best management practices, restrictions and prohibitions for designated
items; P.A. 98-209 amended Subsec. (a) to make submittal of farm resources management plans discretionary on the part
of the commissioner, and amended Subsec. (d) to extend the date for notice of intent to adopt regulations under this section
and to authorize certain priorities within such regulations; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 replaced Commissioner of Agriculture
with Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-189 repealed Sec. 146 of
June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, thereby reversing the merger of the Departments of Agriculture and Consumer Protection,
effective June 1, 2004.
See Sec. 22-6c re reimbursement by commissioner for costs of comprehensive farm nutrient management plan or farm
resources management plan.