Posted January 30, 2015
A
Minnesota federal judge ruled that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) is allowed to release information regarding livestock farms subject to
concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) regulations, according to a Dairy
Herd Management article available here. Environmental and Energy
Published also published an article available here.
The
lawsuit (0:13-cv-01751-ADM-TNL, American Farm Bureau Federation and National
Pork Producers Council v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, et. al) was
filed July 5, 2013 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.
The
American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and National Pork Producers Council
(NPPC) requested a court injunction to prevent EPA from publicly releasing data
under Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests until a court could the
personal information was private.
U.S.
District Judge Ann Montgomery for the District of Minnesota denied the motion
because they lacked standing because the information's release didn't cause
"actual or imminent injury" to the livestock farm operators who
provided data to EPA under Clean Water Act permitting, according to EE Publishing.
“It's not
only a win for environmental groups and EPA, but for open government,” said
Scott Edwards, co-director of the nonprofit Food and Water Justice.
AFBF was
disappointed that the lawsuit was dismissed allowing the EPA to release the
personal information (such as a person’s name, home address, GPS location and
telephone number) of livestock and poultry farmers and ranchers in response to
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, according to AFBF press release.
“Farmers,
ranchers and citizens in general should be concerned about the court’s
disregard for individual privacy, said Bob Stallman, AFBF president. “This
court seems to believe that the Internet age has eliminated the individual’s
interest in controlling the distribution of his or her personal information. We
strongly disagree.”
AFBF and
the National Pork Producers Council have 60 days to appeal the decision.
Update: A U.S.
District Court judge issued a protective order against the EPA to stop the
disclosure of radical environmental and animal-rights groups information on
farmers, according to Pork Network article available here.
“Releasing
farmers’ personal information constitutes an irreparable harm that is not
outweighed by any public interest, because the public strongly favors the protection
of private information,” said NPPC President Dr. Howard Hill.
This order
is pending the resolution of a legal challenge brought by the National Pork
Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation.
When the suit
was dismissed it meant that farmers are not harmed when the government compiles
and releases a storehouse of personal information, so long as individual bits
of that information are somehow publicly accessible, such as through an Internet
search or on a Facebook page, according to an AFBF release available here.
“We are
pleased that farmers’ and ranchers’ personal information will be protected
while we appeal the court’s decision,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman. “We
disagree that the Internet age has diminished the individual’s right to protect
personal information. Now, more than ever, citizens need their government to
help protect their information—not gather it, tie a bow on it, and send it out
to anyone who asks.”
For more information on the Clean Air Act, please visit the
National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
