The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) is a code of fair information practices which mandates how federal agencies, such as the EPA, maintain records about individuals. The Privacy Act requires that agencies:
collect only information that is relevant and necessary to carry out an agency function;
maintain no secret records on individuals;
explain at the time the information is being collected, why it is needed and how it will be used;
ensure that the records are used only for the reasons given, or seek the person's permission when another purpose for the record's use is considered necessary or desirable;
provide adequate safeguards to protect the records from unauthorized access and disclosure; and
allow people to see the records kept on them and provide them with the opportunity to correct inaccuracies in their records. The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) governs the collection, maintenance, use and disclosure of information about individuals by Federal agencies. Its purpose is to balance the Government's need to maintain personal information on individuals with the individual's right to be free from unwarranted invasions of personal privacy resulting from Government's use of such information.
The Privacy Act has three basic policy objectives:
to limit disclosure of information about individuals,
to grant individuals the right to access and amend records about themselves, and
to establish fair information practices regarding the collection, maintenance, and disclosure of records.
The Act, implementing regulations, and applicable Federal Register notices set forth procedures for achieving these goals which must be strictly followed by Agency personnel.



Information from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Website: http://www.epa.gov/privacy/faqs/index.htm#q1