Legislation that won key approval in the state Senate this month would prohibit counties from passing zoning laws on farms that are stricter than the rules set by the state Department of Health and Environmental Control. The bill would block ordinances such as one now being considered by Oconee County officials to protect residential neighborhoods from encroachment by major poultry operations.

The so-called "right-to-farm" bill, which was pushed by the S.C. Farm Bureau, is being sold as an effort to protect farmers from restrictive local ordinances. Supporters claim that as people move to rural areas to enjoy the open spaces, poultry farms are being edged out.

But variations of this bill have been proposed -- and ultimately rejected -- over the past five years. In each case, the push came from large livestock and dairy operations seeking to water down environmental restrictions, reduce local control and expand potential acreage for locating new hog and poultry farms.

South Carolina does have nearly 2,000 chicken and turkey farms. Those poultry operations account for three of the state's 10 largest cash crops, including chickens and turkeys raised to eat, and egg production.

But the primary concern is not the roadside egg stand but the giant poultry farms that can house more than 100,000 birds at a time. Georgia officials say that Peach State poultry producers have run out of room to expand and are hoping to be able to move into South Carolina. This bill would help enable them to do that without having to deal with local governmental restrictions.

The state does have a responsibility to establish minimum requirements for such operations. And the Senate bill does include limits to the size of slaughterhouses and requirements that buffers be established between chicken farms and residential areas.

Nonetheless, no city or county should be forced to give up its authority to set reasonable limits of its own to protect the health and well being of its residents. This is a bill that puts a higher premium on the interests of large-scale poultry producers than on the interests of South Carolina citizens.