[§205-46.5]  Agricultural processing
facilities; permits; priority.  (a)  Any agency subject to this chapter or
title 13 that issues permits shall establish and implement a procedure for the
priority processing of permit applications and renewals, at no additional cost
to the applicant, for agricultural processing facilities that process crops or
livestock from an agribusiness; provided that the majority of the lands held,
owned, or used by the agribusiness shall be land designated as important
agricultural lands pursuant to this part, excluding lands held, owned, or used
by the agribusiness in a conservation district.



Any priority permit processing procedure
established pursuant to this section shall not provide or imply that any permit
application filed under the priority processing procedure shall be
automatically approved.



(b)  As used in this section,
"agribusiness" means a business primarily engaged in the care and
production of livestock, livestock products, poultry, poultry products, apiary,
horticultural or floricultural products, the planting, cultivating, and
harvesting of crops or trees, or the farming or ranching of any plant or animal
species in a controlled salt, brackish, or fresh water environment. [L 2008, c
233, §11]