This regulation prescribes standards and procedures for the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) collection and disposal of debts. These standards and procedures are applicable to all debts for which a statute, regulation or contract does not prescribe different standards or procedures. This regulation covers EPA's collection, compromise, suspension, termination, and referral of debts.

(a) Debt means an amount owed to the United States from sources which include loans insured or guaranteed by the United States and all other amounts due the United States from fees, grants, contracts, leases, rents, royalties, services, sales of real or personal property, overpayments, fines, penalties, damages, interest, forfeitures (except those arising under the Uniform Code of Military Justice), and all other similar sources. As used in this regulation, the terms debt and claim are synonymous.

(b) Delinquent debt means any debt which has not been paid by the date specified by the Government for payment or which has not been satisfied in accordance with a repayment agreement.

(c) Debtor means an individual, organization, association, corporation, or a State or local government indebted to the United States or a person or entity with legal responsibility for assuming the debtor's obligation.

(d) Agency means the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

(e) Administrator means the Administrator of EPA or an EPA employee or official designated to act on the Administrator's behalf.

(f) Administrative offset means the withholding of money payable by the United States to, or held by the United States for, a person to satisfy a debt the person owes the Government.

(g) Creditor agency means the Federal agency to which the debt is owed.

(h) Disposable pay means that part of current basic pay, special pay, incentive pay, retired pay, retainer pay, or in the case of an employee not entitled to basic pay, other authorized pay remaining after the deduction of any amount described in 5 CFR 581.105 (b) through (f). These deductions include, but are not limited to: Social security withholdings; Federal, State and local tax withholdings; health insurance premiums; retirement contributions; and life insurance premiums.

(i) Employee means a current employee of the Federal Government including a current member of the Armed Forces.

(j) Person means an individual, firm, partnership, corporation, association and, except for purposes of administrative offsets under subpart C and interest, penalty and administrative costs under subpart B of this regulation, includes State and local governments and Indian tribes and components of tribal governments.

(k) Employee salary offset means the administrative collection of a debt by deductions at one or more officially established pay intervals from the current pay account of an employee without the employee's consent.

(l) Waiver means the cancellation, remission, forgiveness or non-recovery of a debt or debt-related charge as permitted or required by law.

This regulation does not apply to debts owed EPA by other Federal agencies. Such debts will be resolved by negotiation between the agencies or by referral to the General Accounting Office (GAO).

(a) This regulation does not supersede or require omission or duplication of administrative proceedings required by contract, statute, regulation or other Agency procedures, e.g., resolution of audit findings under grants or contracts, informal grant appeals, formal appeals, or review under a procurement contract.

(b) The remedies and sanctions available to the Agency under this regulation for collecting debts are not intended to be exclusive. The Agency may impose, where authorized, other appropriate sanctions upon a debtor for inexcusable, prolonged or repeated failure to pay a debt. For example, the Agency may stop doing business with a grantee, contractor, borrower or lender; convert the method of payment under a grant or contract from an advance payment to a reimbursement method; or revoke a grantee's or contractor's letter-of-credit.

(a) The Administrator will refer cases of suspected criminal activity or misconduct to the EPA Office of Inspector General. That office has the responsibility for investigating or referring the matter, where appropriate, to the Department of Justice (DOJ), and/or returning it to the Administrator for further actions. Examples of activities which should be referred are matters involving fraud, anti-trust violations, embezzlement, theft, false claims or misuse of Government money or property.

(b) The Administrator will not administratively compromise, terminate, suspend or otherwise dispose of debts involving criminal activity or misconduct without the approval of DOJ.

A claim will not be subdivided to avoid the $20,000 limit on the Agency's authority to compromise, suspend, or terminate a debt. A debtor's liability arising from a particular transaction or contract is a single claim.

Failure by the Administrator to comply with any provision of this regulation is not available to a debtor as a defense against payment of a debt.