(a) Applicability. This requirement applies to all financial and programmatic records, supporting documents, statistical records, and other records which are required to be maintained by the terms, program regulations, or the Cooperative Agreement, or are otherwise reasonably considered as pertinent to program regulations or the Cooperative Agreement.

(b) Length of retention period. The recipient must maintain all records for 10 years following submission of the final Financial Status Report unless otherwise directed by the EPA award official, and must obtain written approval from the EPA award official before destroying any records. If any litigation, claim, negotiation, audit, cost recovery, or other action involving the records has been started before the expiration of the ten-year period, the records must be retained until completion of the action and resolution of all issues which arise from it, or until the end of the regular ten-year period, whichever is later.

(c) Substitution of an unalterable electronic format. An unalterable electronic format, acceptable to EPA, may be substituted for the original records. The copying of any unalterable electronic format must be performed in accordance with the technical regulations concerning Federal Government records (36 CFR parts 1220 through 1234) and EPA records management requirements.

(d) Starting date of retention period. The recipient must comply with the requirements regarding the starting dates for records retention described in 2 CFR 1500.7.