Senator Johanns Introduces Amendment Banning EPA’s Aerial Surveillance

Senator Mike Johanns (R-NE) has introduced an amendment to the farm bill that would ban the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from using aerial surveillance on agricultural operations.

Senator Mike Johanns (R-NE) has introduced an amendment to the farm bill that would ban the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from using aerial surveillance on agricultural operations.

Johanns introduced the amendment after the EPA failed to provide comprehensive answers about its use of aerial surveillance nationwide.

The EPA would specifically be prohibited from using aerial surveillance to inspect or record images of agricultural operations; traditional on-site inspections would not be affected.

Speaking on the amendment, Johanns said, “This is a trust issue, and farmers and ranchers don’t trust EPA doing low-level surveillance flights over their operations. EPA’s surveillance program only adds to the deficit of trust this closed-door agency has earned of late. It’s past time for Congress to put an end to EPA’s use of aerial surveillance.”

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