WASHINGTON D.C. — Poultry and other producers may be crowing after a legal victory protecting the privacy of farmers.

 

The court battle started in 2013 after the U.S. EPA provided the personal infor-mation of more than 100,000 livestock and poultry farmers in 29 states, including Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Tennessee, to three activist groups.

 

The groups seeking the information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) were Earth Justice, Natural Resources Defense Council and Pew Charitable Trust, which wanted to hold EPA accountable for enforcing the Clean Water Act due to a belief that concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are a major source of water pollution. FOIA requires the government to release information deemed important to the public.

 

The recent settlement comes after the U.S Court of Appeals in September 2016 ruled EPA abused its discretion by handing over complete sets of data about farmers “on a silver platter ...whatever their motives might be.” The information included names, telephone numbers, email addresses and even GPS coordinates.

 

Under a settlement between EPA and the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), only the city, county, ZIP code and permit status of an operation will be released. The agreement also requires EPA to conduct training on FOIA, personal information and the Privacy Act. “This lawsuit won a major victory for personal privacy,” said Zippy Duvall, president of the AFBF.

 

AFBF and NPPC officials alleged data that specific not only infringes on privacy rights but could even pose a threat to farmers because the information was requested by groups not friendly to agriculture.

 

“Farm families usually live on the farm, and releasing this type of information was a clear violation of their personal privacy,” said Duvall. “The information could easily be used to encourage harassment or even violence against farmers and ranchers.”

 

In its decision, the appellate court ruled the release of such extensive personal information eliminated the need for requesters and others to scour different websites and other public records to create a comprehensive database of their own. Originally, information on farmers in 29 states was released.

 

EPA later recalled the data in response to objections from within the agriculture industry – then, while preparing to release the same information in six other states, was stopped when the AFBF and NPPC filed suit.

 

The court originally involved in the matter threw out the case. That decision was appealed and resulted in the recent settlement.

 

“We’re pleased with this agreement, which will protect the personal and private information, including cell phone numbers and health information, of America’s farmers and ranchers,” said NPPC President Ken Maschhoff, a pork producer from Carlyle, Ill.

 

“EPA’s 2013 release to activist groups of sensitive materials on more than 100,000 farmers and ranchers was an outrageous abuse of its power and trust. This settlement helps ensure that won’t happen again.”