Farmland Protection Laws

Over the past 20 years, state and federal laws have been enacted to protect farmlands from conversion to non-agricultural use. Some laws provide incentives to land owners to maintain land in agricultural use. Other laws direct agencies to identify and take into account the adverse effects on productive and primary farmlands and to consider alternative actions that could lessen adverse affects. The farmland investigation for the U.S. 219 Improvements Project is being conducted in accordance with the following federal and state legislation and policies:

Federal Farmland Protection Policy Act of 1981 (FPPA)
PA Act 100 of 1979, The Administrative Code of 1929
PA Act 43 of 1981, The Agricultural Security Area Law
4 PA Code Chapter 7 § Section 7.301 et seq. Agricultural Land Preservation Policy (ALPP)
PA Act 515 of 1966 (Covenant for Preservation) and PA Act 319 of 1974 (Farmland and Forest Land Assessment Acts)

Disclaimer: The intent of this Information Sheet is not to provide legal advice, nor is it a substitute for such advice and counsel. This Information Sheet has been provided to give a brief overview of Agricultural Laws as they apply to the U.S. 219 Improvements Project.

The intent of each piece of legislation is briefly discussed below.

Federal Farmland Protection Policy Act (7 U.S.C. Section 4201). (FPPA)

The FPPA was established to minimize the extent to which federal programs contribute to the unnecessary and irreversible conversion of farmland to non-agricultural uses.

Farmlands protected by FPPA include: prime farmland, unique farmland, farmland of statewide importance, and farmland of local importance as defined by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) based upon underlying soil types, which do not have to currently be used for productive agricultural purposes.

The FPPA applies only to federally funded projects; it does not apply to 100 percent state-funded projects.

PA Act 100 of 1979

Pennsylvania Act 100 of 1979 established the Agricultural Lands Condemnation Board (ALCAB) as an independent administrative board with approval authority over the condemnation of productive agricultural land for highways and waste disposal projects.

ALCAB will approve condemnation if it determines that there is no reasonable and prudent alternative to the use of productive agricultural land for the project.

PA Act 43 of 1981, The Agricultural Security Law

Pennsylvania Act 43 enables landowners to propose the creation of Agricultural Security Areas (ASAs) to municipal governments. An ASA must contain a minimum of 250 acres of viable agricultural land. An ASA may be comprised of non-contiguous tracts, but these tracts must be at least 10 acres in size.

Upon receiving a proposal to create an ASA, PA Act 43 authorizes the municipal government to establish an agricultural area advisory committee for the purpose of providing expert advice. A municipal government may approve or disapprove the proposal subsequent to a public hearing, during which the recommendations of the county planning commission and the agricultural area advisory committee are considered.

If an ASA is created, it is reviewed every seven years, at which time it can be renewed, terminated, or modified, subsequent to a public hearing. An ASA can also be reviewed prior to the end of the seven-year period if 10 percent of the land within the ASA is diverted to nonagricultural development.

PA Act 43 prohibits municipalities from enacting laws or ordinances which would unreasonably restrict farm practices within an ASA. PA Act 43 also established a Commonwealth program to acquire perpetual agricultural conservation easements within ASAs. The State Agricultural Land Preservation Board was created as a departmental board within the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) to administer the program at the state level. Counties which desire to participate must establish their own agricultural land preservation boards to administer the program at the county level. Easement purchases authorized by Act 43 can be state owned, county owned, or owned jointly by the state and a county.

The provisions of PA Act 100 relating to ALCAB apply in a similar manner to acquisition of productive agricultural lands within an ASA.

4 PA Code CHAPTER 7 § 7.301 et seq., Agricultural Land Preservation Policy (ALPP)

4 PA Code Chapter 7, § 7.301 et seq. Agricultural Land Preservation Policy (ALPP) outlines an agricultural preservation policy that all state agencies must support. The ALPP is intended to protect and preserve the Commonwealth's "primary agricultural land." The "primary agricultural land" is categorized into five priority levels, including preserved farmland, ASAs, preferentially assessed open space, agricultural zoning districts, and soil capability class I, II, III, and IV farmland. "Primary agricultural land" includes those lands in one of the five categories that have been in active agricultural use for the preceding three years. "Primary agricultural land" does not include land used for timber production. Section 7.304 of the PA Code Chapter 7, § 7.301 et seq. ALPP requires that ALCAB shall consider ALPP in its review of agricultural lands proposed for condemnation authorized under the Administrative Code of 1929 (PA Act 100) and the Agricultural Security Law (PA Act 43).

PA Act 515 of 1966 and PA Act 319 of 1974, Pennsylvania Farmland and Forest Land Assessment Acts

PA Act 515 enables Pennsylvania counties to covenant with landowners to preserve land in farm, forest, water supply, or open space by taxing land according to its use value rather than the prevailing market value. The program is voluntary and requires a minimum acreage enrollment that will remain in the designated land use for a period of ten years. Extensions of the covenant and penalties for violations are included in the law.
The Act, a forerunner to the "Clean and Green" Act, is administered by the Board of County Commissioners. The law does not require the County Commissioners to implement PA Act 515.

In 1973, Pennsylvania passed a Constitutional Amendment permitting preferential assessment of farmland and forestland. The Pennsylvania Farmland and Forest Assessment Act, PA Act 319 (the program is commonly known as "Clean and Green"), was signed into law in 1974. This Act is designated to preserve farmland, forestland, and open space, by taxing land according to its use value rather than the prevailing market value. The program is voluntary and generally requires a minimum of ten acres that will remain in the designated use (agricultural use, agricultural reserve, forest reserve).