[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5961 Reported in House (RH)]
Union Calendar No. 493
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5961
[Report No. 112-682]
To provide reasonable limits, control, and oversight over the
Environmental Protection Agency's use of aerial surveillance of
America's farmers.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 19, 2012
Mrs. Capito (for herself, Mr. Akin, Mr. Ross of Florida, Mr. Harris,
Mr. Smith of Nebraska, Mr. Johnson of Ohio, Mr. Holden, Mr. Griffith of
Virginia, Mr. Goodlatte, Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania, Mr. Terry, and
Mrs. Noem) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
September 20, 2012
Additional sponsors: Mr. Rehberg, Mr. Hastings of Washington, and Mr.
Jones
September 20, 2012
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June
19, 2012]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide reasonable limits, control, and oversight over the
Environmental Protection Agency's use of aerial surveillance of
America's farmers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be referred to as the ``Farmer's Privacy Act of
2012''.
SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON USE OF AERIAL SURVEILLANCE.
(a) Aerial Surveillance Restricted.--Subject to subsection (b), in
exercising any authority under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act
(33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), the Administrator may not conduct aerial
surveillance of agricultural land.
(b) Exceptions.--The Administrator may conduct aerial surveillance
of agricultural land under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act if
the Administrator--
(1) has obtained the voluntary written consent of the owner
or operator of the land to be surveilled in accordance with
section 3; or
(2) has obtained a certification of reasonable suspicion in
accordance with section 4.
SEC. 3. VOLUNTARY WRITTEN CONSENT.
(a) Consent Required.--In order to conduct aerial surveillance
under section 2(b)(1), the Administrator shall obtain from the owner or
operator of the land to be surveilled written consent to such
surveillance.
(b) Contents.--The Administrator shall ensure that any written
consent required under subsection (a)--
(1) specifies the period during which the consent is
effective, which may not exceed one year;
(2) contains a specific description of the geographical
area to be surveilled; and
(3) if requested by the owner or operator of the land to be
surveilled, contains limitations on the days and times during
which the surveillance may be conducted.
(c) Assurance of Voluntary Consent.--The Administrator shall ensure
that any written consent required under subsection (a) is granted
voluntarily by the owner or operator of the land to be surveilled, and
the Administrator may not threaten additional, more detailed, or more
thorough inspections, or otherwise coerce or entice such owner or
operator, in order to obtain such consent.
SEC. 4. CERTIFICATION OF REASONABLE SUSPICION.
(a) In General.--In order to conduct aerial surveillance under
section 2(b)(2), the Administrator shall obtain a certification of
reasonable suspicion from the United States District Court for the
District of Columbia in accordance with this section.
(b) Certification Requirements.--The court may issue to the
Administrator a certification of reasonable suspicion if--
(1) the Administrator submits to the court an affidavit
setting forth specific and articulable facts that would
indicate to a reasonable person that a violation of the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act exists in the area to be
surveilled; and
(2) the court finds that the Administrator has shown
reasonable suspicion that an owner or operator of agricultural
land in the area to be surveilled has violated the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act.
SEC. 5. DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION.
(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (c), or for the
purposes of an investigation or prosecution by the Administrator as
described in section 6, the Administrator may not disclose information
collected through aerial surveillance conducted under section 2(b).
(b) Applicability of FOIA.--Section 552 of title 5, United States
Code, shall not apply to any information collected through aerial
surveillance conducted under section 2(b) of this Act.
(c) Right to Petition.--The owner or operator of land surveilled
under this Act has the right to petition for copies of the information
collected through such surveillance.
SEC. 6. DESTRUCTION OF INFORMATION.
The Administrator shall destroy information collected through
aerial surveillance conducted under section 2(b) not later than 30 days
after collection, unless the information is pertinent to an active
investigation or prosecution by the Administrator.
SEC. 7. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act shall be interpreted as expanding the power of
the Administrator to inspect, monitor, or conduct surveillance of
agricultural lands pursuant to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act
(33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) or any other Federal law.
SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Aerial surveillance.--The term ``aerial surveillance''
means any surveillance from the air, including--
(A) surveillance conducted from manned or unmanned
aircraft; or
(B) the use of aerial or satellite images,
regardless of whether the images are publicly
available.
(2) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, or in the
case of an action taken pursuant to a permit program approved
under section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act
(33 U.S.C. 1342), the head of the State agency administering
the program.
(3) Agricultural land.--The term ``agricultural land''
means land used primarily for agricultural production,
including cropland, grassland, prairie land, improved
pastureland, rangeland, cropped woodland, marshes, reclaimed
land, fish or other aquatic species habitat, and land used for
agro-forestry or the production of livestock.
(4) Court.--The term ``court'' means the United States
District Court for the District of Columbia.
Union Calendar No. 493
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5961
[Report No. 112-682]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide reasonable limits, control, and oversight over the
Environmental Protection Agency's use of aerial surveillance of
America's farmers.
_______________________________________________________________________
September 20, 2012
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed