Eighth Circuit Admonishes EPA for Releasing CAFO Farmers' Personal Information In FOIA Response

The United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit unanimously ruled against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently, finding that the agency had abused its discretion when releasing concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) farmers’ personal phone numbers, emails, GPS coordinates, and mailing addresses in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by environmental groups in 2013.  The Eighth Circuit concluded that the EPA erred when it decided that the farmers’ information was not exempt from FOIA. 

The case is particularly far-reaching because the EPA maintains records on all CAFOs in the country, including some information that is not included in publically-accessible documents.  The Eighth Circuit found that disclosure of the farmers’ personal information would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy that furthers “little in the way of public interest that is cognizable under FOIA.”  It remanded the case to the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota for further proceedings concerning the Administrative Procedure Act and the Privacy Act of 1974.  A copy of the opinion can be accessed here.