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EPA Records Schedule 999
Status: Final, 02/21/2007
Title: Personal Papers
Program: All Programs
Applicability: Agency-wide
Function: N/A - not applicable
NARA Disposal Authority:
- Not applicable
Description:
Personal papers are documentary materials, or any reasonably segregable portion thereof, of a private or nonpublic character that do not relate to, or have an effect upon, the conduct of Agency business. Personal papers are excluded from the definition of records in 44 U.S.C. Section 3301 and are not owned by the Agency.
Examples of personal papers include: (1) Materials accumulated by an official before joining government service that are not used subsequently in the transaction of government business; (2) Materials relating solely to an individual's private affairs, such as outside business pursuits, professional affiliations, or private political associations that do not relate to Agency business; and, (3) Diaries, journals, personal correspondence, or other personal notes that are not prepared or used for, or circulated or communicated in the course of, transacting government business.
Disposition Instructions:
-
Disposable
-
Destroy or remove at the discretion of the owner.
Guidance:
If information about private matters and Agency business appears in the same document, the document should be copied at the time of receipt, with the personal information deleted, and treated as a federal record.
Personal papers must be clearly designated as such and at all times be maintained separately from the Agency's records. The use of a label such as "personal," "confidential," "private," or similar designation, is not sufficient to determine that materials are personal papers. Even though they may have designations such as "personal," the materials are federal records subject to the provisions of pertinent laws and regulations (1) if they are created or received by the Agency to conduct government business and (2) if they are preserved or appropriate for preservation because they document the Agency's organization, functions, and activities or contain information on the persons, places, things, or matters dealt with by the Agency.
For Nonrecords, see EPA 008.
Reasons for Disposition:
Personal papers are identified in 36 CFR Section 1222.36. NARA guidance states "...personal papers may be destroyed or removed at the owner's discretion."
Custodians:
Multiple units
Related Schedules:
EPA 008
Previous NARA Disposal Authority:
Entry: 10/19/2004
EPA Approval: Not applicable
NARA Approval: Not applicable