Health board to consider farm regulations.

Byline: Mark E. Ellis

PRINCETON - The Board of Health is scheduled to vote Monday on whether to adopt regulations to restrict the number of farm animals that may be kept on private property, how those animals must be sheltered, the location of manure piles, and other aspects of raising livestock.

The regulations, developed by the health board and the Agricultural Commission, have been the topic of public hearings attended by local farmers and livestock owners. Modifications have been made to the proposed regulations as a result of comments at the hearings.

The Board of Health will meet at 5 p.m. at Town Hall.

The regulations, which are authorized under Chapter 111 of the Massachusetts General Laws, will apply to all animals except cats, dogs and other customary household pets.

The regulations would establish 30,000 square feet as the minimum lot size allowed for keeping animals without obtaining a permit from the health board. On a lot of that size, a single "animal unit" will be allowed. Two units will be allowed on a 60,000-square-foot lot, three units on 80,000 square feet. Each additional animal unit from that point would require another 20,000 square feet.

The regulations identify an animal unit as: a single horse or cow, two ponies or miniature horses, four swine, eight sheep or goats, 10 turkeys or geese, 15 ducks, or 20 rabbits, chickens or pigeons.

At a meeting last Monday, the Agricultural Commission discussed how to overcome confusion expressed at public hearings over how to determine how many animals of each species are allowed on a specific lot, given the different numbers of animals that make up an animal unit.

At the suggestion of member Leslie A. Regh, the commission decided to include a chart in the regulations that gives the relative share of an animal unit that each animal represents. For example, a horse or a cow represents one animal unit, a pony represents a half unit, a sheep represents an eighth of a unit, and a goose represents a tenth of a unit. The shares of all the animals on a farm will be added together to determine whether the farm complies with the regulations' land requirements, or needs a permit from the Board of Health.

The regulations would require that stables and manure be stored at least 200 feet from any tributaries to surface water supplies, 100 feet from wells, 50 feet from public ways, and 10 feet from sewage disposal systems. Manure must be stored at least 100 feet from any wetland, and stables must be at least 50 feet away. Corrals must be 100 feet from wells and drinking water supply tributaries and 25 feet from wetlands.

Other requirements call for secure fencing to prevent the escape of animals from the property; nearby water supplies for feeding, cleaning and fire protection; adequate shade; composting in accordance with state Department of Agriculture standards; and proper storage and disposal of manure.

"A manure management plan must be submitted to address proper manure management specific to the site and shall describe methods proposed to contain manure, treat manure, and dispose of manure," the proposed regulations state.

Farmers would have 60 days to comply with the regulations if adopted, although some pre-existing conditions will be "grandfathered."

The regulations provide for a warning on the first violation, and a $100 fine for second and subsequent violations. Each day of noncompliance will be considered a separate violation.

According to the Agricultural Commission, the proposals were developed based upon similar regulations in other communities, and from model regulations provided by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation. The ones proposed for Princeton are generally more lenient than the others, member Lisa N. Dawson said.

NAME: PRINCETON BOARD OF HEALTH