Forest Guardians v. U.S. Federal Emergency, 04-2056.

• Decision Date: 14 June 2005
• Docket Number: No. 04-2056.,04-2056.
• Citation: 410 F.3d 1214
• Parties: FOREST GUARDIANS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. UNITED STATES FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit

410 F.3d 1214 FOREST GUARDIANS, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
UNITED STATES FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, Defendant-Appellee. No. 04-2056. United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit. June 14, 2005.

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Steven Sugarman, Santa Fe, NM, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Wendy M. Keats, Appellate Staff Civil Division, Department of Justice (Peter D. Keisler, Assistant Attorney General, and Leonard Schaitman, Appellate Staff Civil Division, Department of Justice, with her on the briefs), Washington, DC, for Defendant-Appellee.

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Before KELLY, BALDOCK, and HARTZ, Circuit Judges.

BALDOCK, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff Forest Guardians brought this action under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, seeking to compel Defendant Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to produce electronic mapping files that identify the location of structures insured under FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The NFIP is a federally subsidized program that provides flood insurance to property owners located in flood plain areas with the participation of private insurance companies. See 42 U.S.C. § 4001(b)(2), (c). FEMA administers the NFIP and is responsible for, among other things, providing and updating flood maps. See id. § 4101(f), (g). The district court granted FEMA's cross-motion for summary judgment concluding that Plaintiff's FOIA request was exempt from disclosure under FOIA's Exemption 6, § 552(b)(6), which excludes "personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy." Plaintiff appeals, arguing the district court erred in concluding Exemption 6 applied. According to Plaintiff, the substantial public interest in the information it requested from FEMA far outweighs any de minimis privacy interest that may exist. We have jurisdiction, 28 U.S.C. § 1291, review the district court's FOIA determination de novo, see Herrick v. Garvey, 298 F.3d 1184, 1190 (10th Cir.2002), and affirm.

I.

Plaintiff is a non-profit organization devoted to promoting environmental conservation. The organization is currently studying the loss of endangered species in flood plain areas. Plaintiff posits the NFIP encourages excessive development in flood plain areas. Specifically, according to Plaintiff, "the issuance of flood insurance policies under the NFIP facilitates development that results in significant harm to New Mexico's natural resources."

Plaintiff filed a FOIA request with FEMA in January 2001 ("2001 FOIA request"). In the 2001 FOIA request, Plaintiff sought to obtain information regarding FEMA's "efforts to comply with numerous federal environment laws while allowing local communities to participate in the [NFIP]." Plaintiff requested the "[n]ames and addresses of all insurance policy-holders who obtain flood insurance via FEMA's [NFIP]." Plaintiff limited its request "to New Mexico residents who have property within the 100-year floodplains of the Rio Grande and San Juan river." FEMA partially granted Plaintiff's FOIA request. The agency explained it would not disclose policyholders' names because such a disclosure would "clearly invade the privacy of an individual" under Exemption 6.

In the alternative, however, FEMA provided Plaintiff with sixteen "Geographic Information System (GIS) maps of the 27 communities that have a flood hazard designated by FEMA where the flooding source is the San Juan, Animas, or Rio Grande Rivers."¹ In describing the information contained in the GIS maps, FEMA specifically noted:

On these GIS maps, FEMA has displayed Digitized Q3 Data showing the designated Special Flood Hazard Area

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(SFHA) and geocoded flood insurance policy data. The geocoded flood policy information shows the general location of structures relative to the floodplain and whether the structure insured was constructed before or after the community participated in the NFIP. These maps show the entire communities not just the floodplains located within them.

Thereafter, Plaintiff filed a second FOIA request with FEMA, which is the subject of this appeal, on April 23, 2002 ("2002 FOIA request"). In the 2002 FOIA request, Plaintiff sought:

electronic GIS files ... for the 27 communities that have a flood hazard designated by FEMA where the flooding source is the San Juan, Animas, or Rio Grande Rivers, showing all of the geocoded flood insurance policy data (with names and addresses removed) including the location of structures relative to the floodplain and whether the structure insured was constructed before or after the community participated in the NFIP. Please include the entire community, and not just the floodplains located within them. We are essentially requesting that your agency provide the electronic data equivalent to what we received in printed form from FEMA in response to our original January 29, 2001 FOIA [request].

FEMA denied Plaintiff's second request under Exemption 6. FEMA first indicated it had already provided Plaintiff the information in printed form. Second, FEMA claimed the electronic GIS files contained "personal identifying information" and, even with the names and addresses redacted, could be used to determine the "addresses of policyholders based on the GIS point locations with a reasonable level of confidence." In particular, disclosure of the electronic files could lead to the discovery of (1) an individual's name, address, and ownership interest in property, (2) the level of flood risk to property, and (3) the type of insurance and financing on property. Plaintiff sued FEMA after the agency denied its 2002 FOIA request, seeking to compel disclosure of the electronic GIS files.

II.

FOIA facilitates public access to Government documents. United States Dep't of State v. Ray, 502 U.S. 164, 173, 112 S.Ct. 541, 116 L.Ed.2d 526 (1991). A strong presumption exists in favor of disclosure under FOIA and the Government bears the burden of justifying the withholding of any requested documents. Sheet Metal Workers Intern. Ass'n v. United States Air Force, 63 F.3d 994, 996 (10th Cir.1995). Public access to Government information is not, however, "all-encompassing." Id. Access is permitted "only to information that sheds light upon the government's performance of its duties." Id. (internal citation omitted).

FOIA contains nine exemptions which, if applicable, preclude disclosure of certain types of information. 5 U.S.C. § 552(b). Exemption 6 prohibits the disclosure of information in "personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy." 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(6). "Similar files" under Exemption 6 has a "broad, rather than a narrow, meaning" and encompasses all information that "applies to a particular individual." United States Department of State v. Washington Post Co., 456 U.S. 595, 600-02, 102 S.Ct. 1957, 72 L.Ed.2d 358 (1982).

We apply a balancing test to determine whether disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy under Exemption 6. See United States Dep't of Defense v. FLRA, 510 U.S. 487, 495, 114 S.Ct. 1006, 127 L.Ed.2d 325

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(1994). "[A] court must balance the public interest in disclosure against the [privacy] interest Congress intended the [e]xemption to protect." Id.; see also Federal Labor Relations Auth. v. United States Dep't of Defense, 984 F.2d 370, 374 (10th Cir.1993). "If there is an important public interest in the disclosure of information and the invasion of privacy is not substantial, the private interest in protecting the disclosure must yield to the superior public interest." Alirez v. NLRB, 676 F.2d 423, 426 (10th Cir.1982). If, however, the public interest in the information is "virtually nonexistent" or "negligible," then even a "very slight privacy interest would suffice to outweigh the relevant public interest." FLRA, 510 U.S. at 497, 500, 114 S.Ct. 1006; see also Dep't of Defense, 984 F.2d at 375. "[E]ven a `minimal' privacy interest ... outweighs a nonexistent public interest." Dep't of Defense, 984 F.2d at 375 (emphasis added).

The "public interest" to be weighed in Exemption 6's balancing test is the extent to which disclosure would serve the "core purpose" of FOIA. See FLRA, 510 U.S. at 495, 114 S.Ct. 1006. The core purpose of FOIA is, of course, to...