[excerpted from: Federal Register: February 22, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 36)]

System Name: EPA Travel, Other Accounts Payable, and Accounts Receivable Files.

System Location: National Computer Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711; other EPA offices. See the appendix for addresses of regional and other offices.

Categories of Records in the System: Individuals who owe monies to and individuals who are owed monies from the Environmental Protection Agency are covered by the system. This includes, but is not limited to, monies owed to EPA for refunds, penalties, travel advances, Interagency Agreements, or Freedom of Information Requests. This system also contains information on corporations and other entities that are in debt to EPA. Records on corporations and other entities are not subject to the Privacy Act. This system also includes monies owed by EPA to Agency employees, consultants, private citizens, and others who travel or perform other services for EPA.

Categories of Records in the System: This system of records is composed of an accounts receivable module and travel and other accounts payable modules. The system contains personal identifying information such as names, addresses, and Social Security numbers of persons indebted to or owed money by EPA. The accounts receivable module contains information about the nature of the debt or claim, the amount owed, the history status of the debt, and information that relates to and documents efforts to collect debts owed the Agency. The travel and other accounts payable modules contain information about the travel authorization; travel vouchers, which support the claim for the reimbursement to the travel; travel advance authorizations, which provide fund advances to pay travel expenses incurred in the performance of official government business; and finally itemized invoices for other services performed for EPA. In both modules, banking information necessary to support electronic funds transfers may be maintained.

Authority for Maintenance of the System: 31 U.S.C. 3511-3513; 5 U.S.C. 5514; 31 U.S.C. 3702; 31 U.S.C. 3711 et seq.; Executive Order 9397 (Nov. 22, 1943).

Purpose(s): Records in the accounts receivable module are used primarily to create a record of, and track, all accounts receivable and to assist EPA in collecting debts owed the Agency. Records in the travel and other accounts payable modules are used primarily to create a record of and to track all monies owed by the EPA for authorized travel and for other services performed for EPA.

Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System, Including Categories of Users, and the Purposes of Such Uses: General Routine Uses A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, and K apply to this system. Records may also be disclosed:

1. To Union representatives when relevant and necessary to their duties as exclusive bargaining agents under the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, 5 U.S.C. 7111, 7114.
2. To the Office of Management and Budget, and Department of Treasury for Purpose (s) of carrying out EPA's financial management responsibilities.
3. To the Defense Manpower Data Center of the Department of Defense, U.S. Postal Service, Department of the Treasury, Justice Department or other federal agencies for the Purpose (s) of identifying and locating individuals who are receiving Federal salaries or benefit payments and are delinquent in their repayment of debts owed to the U.S. Government under programs administered by EPA. The Purpose (s) of the disclosure is to collect the delinquent debts by voluntary repayment, administrative, salary, tax refund offset procedures, or through litigation. When disclosures are made as part of computer matching programs, EPA will comply with the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988.
4. To provide debtor information to consumer reporting agencies in order to obtain credit reports for use by EPA for debt collection Purpose (s)s and to report delinquent debts.
5. To provide debtor information to debt collection agencies under contract to EPA to help collect debts owed EPA. Debt collection agencies will be required to comply with the Privacy Act and their agents will be made subject to the criminal penalty provisions of the Act.

Note: The term "debtor information" as used in the routine uses above is limited to the individual's name, address, social security number, and other information necessary to identify the individual; the amount, status and history of the claim; and the agency or program under which the claim arose.

Disclosure to consumer reporting agencies: Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(12), disclosure may be made to a consumer reporting agency as defined in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(f)) or the Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966 (31 U.S.C. 3701(a)(30)).

Policies and Practices For Storing, Retrieving, Accessing, Retaining, and Disposing of Records in the System:

• Storage: On computer systems, tapes, disks, microfiche, and other hard copy formats. The mainframe and the computer tapes and disks are located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Backup tapes are maintained at a disaster recovery site.

• Retrievability: Accounts receivable module records are indexed by account receivable control number (a number assigned to each "incoming" account receivable). Individual records can be accessed by using a cross reference table which links accounts receivable control numbers with debtors names and associated debtor information. Travel and other accounts payable module records are retrievable by name and social security number.

• Safeguards: Computer records are maintained in a secure, password protected computer system. Paper records are maintained in lockable file cabinets. All records are maintained in secure, access-controlled areas or buildings.

• Retention and Disposal: Records are maintained for at least two years. In some cases depending on program needs, records may be maintained for a longer period. Manual records are ultimately transferred to a Record Center where they are kept until disposed of in accordance with record disposal schedules.

System Manager(s) and Address: Comptroller, Office of the Comptroller, Environmental Protection Agency, Ariel Rios Building, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460.

Notification Procedures: Any individual who wants to know whether this system of records contain a record about him or her, who wants access to his or her record, or who wants to contest the contents of a record, should make a written request to the System Manager.

Access Procedure: Requesters will be required to provide adequate identification, such as a driver's license, employee identification card, or other identifying document. Additional identification procedures may be required in some instances.

Contesting Procedure: Requests for correction or amendment must identify the record to be changed and the corrective action sought. Complete EPA Privacy Act procedures are set out in 40 CFR Part 16.

Record Source Categories: Record subjects, supervisors, consumer reporting agencies, debt collection agencies, the Department of the Treasury and other Federal agencies.

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