No person in the United States may, on the basis of age, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving EPA assistance.

(a) As to any program or activity receiving EPA assistance, a recipient shall not directly or through contractual, licensing, or other arrangements on the basis of age:

(1) Exclude any individuals from, deny them the service, aid or benefits of, or subject them to discrimination under, a program or activity;

(2) Provide a person any service, aid or other benefit that is different, or is provided differently from that provided to others under the program or activity;

(3) Restrict a person in any way in the enjoyment of any advantage or privilege enjoyed by others receiving any service, aid, or benefit provided by the program or activity;

(4) Subject a person to segregation in any manner or separate treatment in any way related to receiving services or benefits under the program or activity;

(5) Deny a person or any group of persons the opportunity to participate as members of any planning or advisory body which is an integral part of the program or activity, such as a local sanitation board or sewer authority;

(6) In administering a program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance in which the recipient has previously discriminated on the basis of age, the recipient shall take affirmative action to provide remedies to those who have been injured by the discrimination.

(b) A recipient shall not use criteria or methods of administering its program or activity which have the effect of subjecting individuals to discrimination because of their age, or have the effect of defeating or substantially impairing accomplishment of the objectives of the program or activity with respect to individuals of a particular age.

(c) A recipient shall not choose a site or location of a facility that has the purpose or effect of excluding individuals from, denying them the benefits of, or subjecting them to discrimination under any program or activity to which this part applies on the ground of age; or with the purpose or effect of defeating or substantially impairing the accomplishment of the objectives of this subpart.

(d) The specific prohibitions of discrimination enumerated above do not limit the general prohibition of § 7.140.

A recipient is permitted to take an action, otherwise prohibited by §§ 7.140 and 7.145, if the action reasonably takes into account age as a factor necessary to the normal operation or achievement of any statutory objective of a program or activity. An action reasonably takes into account age as a factor necessary to the normal operation or the achievement of any statutory objective of a program or activity if:

(a) Age is used as a measure or approximation of one or more other characteristics;

(b) The other characteristic(s) must be measured or approximated in order for the normal operation of the program or activity to continue, or to achieve any statutory objective of the program or activity;

(c) The other characteristic(s) can be reasonably measured or approximated by the use of age; and

(d) The other characteristic(s) are impractical to measure directly on an individual basis.

A recipient is permitted to take an action otherwise prohibited by §§ 7.140 and 7.145 which is based on a factor other than age, even though that action may have a disproportionate effect on persons of different ages. An action may be based on a factor other than age only if the factor bears a direct and substantial relationship to the normal operation of the program or activity or to the achievement of a statutory objective.

The burden of proving that an age distinction or other action falls within the exceptions outlined in §§ 7.150 and 7.155 is on the recipient of EPA financial assistance.

If a recipient operating a program which serves the elderly or children in addition to persons of other ages, provides special benefits to the elderly or to children the provision of those benefits shall be presumed to be voluntary affirmative action provided that it does not have the effect of excluding otherwise eligible persons from participation in the program.

(a) When EPA withholds funds from a recipient under Subpart F of these regulations, the Administrator may disburse the withheld funds directly to an alternate recipient: Any public or non-profit private organization or agency, or State or political subdivision of the State.

(b) The Administrator will require any alternate recipient to demonstrate the ability to achieve the goals of the Federal statute authorizing the funds and these regulations (40 CFR Part 7).

(a) A complainant may file a civil action following the exhaustion of administrative remedies under the Age Discrimination Act. Administrative remedies are exhausted if:

(1) 180 days have elapsed since the complainant filed the complaint and EPA has made no finding with regard to the complaint; or

(2) EPA issues any finding in favor of the recipient.

(b) If EPA fails to make a finding within 180 days or issues a finding in favor of the recipient, EPA shall:

(1) Promptly advise the complainant of this fact; and

(2) Advise the complainant of his or her right to bring a civil action for injunctive relief; and

(3) Inform the complainant that:

(i) The complainant may bring a civil action only in a United States district court for the district in which the recipient is found or transacts business;

(ii) A complainant prevailing in a civil action has the right to be awarded the costs of the action, including reasonable attorney's fees, but that the complainant must demand these costs in the complaint;

(iii) Before commencing the action, the complainant shall give 30 days notice by registered mail to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Administrator, the Attorney General of the United States, and the recipient;

(iv) The notice must state: The alleged violation of the Age Discrimination Act; the relief requested; the court in which the complainant is bringing the action; and, whether or not attorney's fees are demanded in the event the complainant prevails; and

(v) The complainant may not bring an action if the same alleged violation of the Age Discrimination Act by the same recipient is the subject of a pending action in any court of the United States.

(a) The OCR will refer all accepted complaints alleging age discrimination to the Mediation Agency designated by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

(b) Both the complainant and the recipient must participate in the mediation process to the extent necessary to reach an agreement or make an informed judgment that an agreement is not possible. The recipient and the complainant must meet with the mediator at least once before the OCR will accept a judgment that an agreement is not possible. The recipient and the complainant, however, need not meet with the mediator at the same time.

(c) If the complainant and the recipient reach an agreement, the mediator must prepare a written statement of the agreement and have the complainant and recipient sign it. The mediator will send a copy of the agreement to the OCR, which will take no further action on the complaint unless the complainant or the recipient fails to comply with the agreement.

(d) The mediator must protect the confidentiality of all information obtained in the course of the mediation process. No mediator may testify in any adjudicative proceeding, produce any document, or otherwise disclose any information obtained in the course of the mediation process without prior approval of the head of the agency appointing the mediator.

(e) Mediation ends after sixty (60) days from the time EPA received the complaint or if:

(1) An agreement is reached; or

(2) The Mediator determines that an agreement cannot be reached.

(f) The mediator must return unresolved complaints to OCR to be processed in accordance with the procedure in § 7.120.