Posted on 09/14/2016 7:12:01 AM PDT by Twotone
The Environmental Protection Agency has violated the personal privacy of tens of thousands of farmers and ranchers, according to a unanimous ruling issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
The ruling in American Farm Bureau Federation and National Pork Producers Council vs. EPA concerned the federal agency's 2013 release to three environmental groups of a vast compilation of spreadsheets containing personal information about farmers and ranchers who raise livestock and poultry in 29 states.
The case also related to similar personal information from farmers and ranchers in seven additional states that had yet to be released. The information included the names of farmers, ranchers and sometimes other family members, home addresses, GPS coordinates, telephone numbers and emails. EPA claimed that it was required to disclose the information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
"This was an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy by a federal agency in violation of law," said AFBF General Counsel Ellen Steen. "The court's decision is a vindication of the right of farm families to control their own personal information. Farmers and ranchers have a strong privacy interest in their personal information, including their home address, even when they live and work on the farm."
(Excerpt) Read more at northernag.net ...
This was one of the more disgusting acts of Obama thuggery. There was no good or valid reason to do this, except to persecute, frighten & control people.
Release the personal and family information of all EPA executives.
Another federal agency that needs abolishment.
Personally, I think that each farmer affected....ought to be given tax-free status for the next twenty years as part of the government ‘pay-back’.
I also think EPA needs a special type of punishment....like downsizing their personnel by a quarter, and limiting any potential hiring of contractors....for at least a ten-year period. I’d even go and appoint a federal judge as oversight chief of the EPA and give him the ability to drag them into his court daily if necessary.
So what is their recourse, all these people who had their rights violated by the EPA? None? That’s what I thought.
Hopefully after about noon on Jan 20, 2016 the EPA will be living on borrowed time. All those poor bureaucrats out of work. Breaks my heart. Sob.
Bump!
I don’t see the release of this information as being the violation of their rights. Collecting it in the first place was the violation. Why does the EPA need to have the email addresses and phone numbers of some farmer’s family members?
Trump will never get the economy going unless he gets rid the EPA and all government rule making…… unless approved by congress
Look how easy it was to kill the coal industry right a rule
Next is fracking and kill the oil industry
It is Time to DownSize DC! Close entire Rogue/Unconstitutional Departments, including their SWAT Teams.
Only way to remove the powerful entrenched Bureaucraps who practice this treason is eliminate their job. Only way to do that is close the agency, reshape government without them in the new hires for agency replacement.
And absolutely nothing will happen to those responsible for releasing the information just like nothing happened to Lois Lerner or the Clinton e-mail wipers. Banana republic at its best (or worst)
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