Flashback: EPA Released Personal Info of Livestock and Poultry Producers to Extremist Environmental Groups

by DEBRA HEINE 6 Jun 2013

In recent days, another unpopular government agency has faced accusations of political bias over its alleged targeting of conservative groups. Fox News reported that the Environmental Protection Agency is being accused of trying to charge conservative groups fees while largely exempting liberal groups.
The fees applied to Freedom of Information Act requests -- allegedly, the EPA waived them for liberal groups far more often than it did for conservative ones.

Another scandal surfaced briefly a few months ago regarding the EPA (which was roundly ignored by the MSM.) It's another example of the Regime providing allied left-wing organizations private information about United States Citizens it deems problematic. The EPA gave personal information like phone numbers, addresses and even geographic coordinates of livestock and poultry producers, to extremist environmentalist groups.

Farm Futures reported:

NCBA and the National Pork Producers Council are both furious with EPA for handing extremist groups illegally gathered data on farmers who operate confined animal feeding operations.

NCBA said early this week it was notified by the EPA that the agency had been collecting information from states on CAFOs. The information was requested by extremist groups, including Earth Justice, the Pew Charitable Trust and the Natural Resources Defense Council through a Freedom of Information Act request and was given to them.

The information released by EPA covers livestock operations in more than 30 states, including many family farmers who feed less than 1,000 head and are not subject to regulation under the Clean Water Act.

“When we reviewed the information submitted by the states and released by EPA, we were alarmed at the detail of the information provided on hard working family farmers and ranchers, family operations including my own,” said NCBA past president J.D. Alexander, a cattle feeder from Pilger, Nebraska.


“It is beyond comprehension to me that with threats to my family from harassment atop bio-security concerns, that EPA would gather this information only to release it to these groups. This information details my family’s home address and geographic coordinates. The only thing it doesn’t do is chauffeur these extremists to my house. For some operations, even telephone numbers and deceased relatives are listed.”
Rep Rick Crawford (R-AR) released the following video in response to this shocking news:


Recently, I was informed the Environmental Protection Agency had released the personal information of livestock and poultry producers to extremist environmental groups. The information was released after the groups filed a request through the Freedom of Information Act. The EPA turned over personal information like phone numbers, addresses and even geographic coordinates to environmentalists. An overwhelming majority of the information released appears to be from farms owned by families who may now face threats to their homes and businesses. I have serious concerns over the EPA’s release of this information, particularly regarding individual privacy rights and possible bio-security threats to the nation’s food supply. Releasing this type of information makes producers potential targets of harassment, or even bio-terrorism.

http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2013/06/06/Flashback-EPA-released-Personal-Info-of-Livestock-and-Poultry-Producers-to-Extremist-Environmental-Groups