EPA Updates Privacy Act Systems for Financial and Debt Record Management
Published Date: 4/16/2026
Notice
Summary
The EPA is updating how it handles certain financial records to follow new government rules. This affects anyone involved with EPA’s money tracking, like debts and travel costs. The changes kick in on April 16, 2026, with a chance to comment until May 18, 2026—no big costs, just smoother record-keeping!
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Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 1 costs, 2 mixed.
Treasury review to spot and recoup improper payments
Starting May 18, 2026 (unless changed by comment), EPA will share records with the U.S. Department of the Treasury to identify, prevent, or recoup improper payments to applicants or recipients of Federal funds, including state-administered programs. This routine use implements Executive Order 14249 and OMB Memorandum M-25-32 and applies to records in EPA's Compass Financials IT System.
Debtor information sent to collection agencies
EPA may disclose limited debtor information to debt collection agencies for the sole purpose of collecting debts owed to the Agency. Disclosed fields can include an individual's name, address, Social Security number, amount and status of the claim, and the program under which the claim arose; this routine use becomes effective May 18, 2026 unless changed.
EPA stores SSNs and banking data with multi-year retention
EPA's Compass Financials IT System stores personal identifying information such as names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and banking information to support accounts receivable and payable. Records are retained for 6 years and 3 months after final payment (Superfund cost recovery records may be kept more than 30 years); backups are held at a disaster recovery site and technical safeguards follow NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5.
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