Larry Medina said:

"Similar can be said about the litany of messages regarding EPA and other
Agency emails and the use of private accounts.  NATURALLY I understand that
Federal regs say official business shouldn't be conducted from non-official
email accounts (unless the emails are made public and available to the
Agency)... so this is loosely related to "records".

But there NO QUESTION this administration is NOT THE FIRST TO EVER DO THAT,
RIGHT ??

So why is it now germane to post every story that comes out on the subject?
We certainly didn't see this happening in the prior regime under the banner
of "RAIN"."

I am records managment contractor working at an EPA regional office as well
as a MLIS student at Drexel University, and I can say that I have rather
appreciated the ongoing discussion and media blow-by-blow of the EPA email
charges. I see at least 2 different issues here (the "Richard Windsor"
account and private accounts). These have been useful discussion examples
for my current class on Electronic Records Management and has spurred
discussion with my agency colleagues on the use of group email boxes and
dummy computer logins for scanning stations.

Yes, the media outlets that are spilling the most ink on this issue tend to
be of a particular political slant. Yes, the individuals and groups
pursuing the issues are unwilling to give the administration, the EPA, or
our records managment policies any benefit of the doubt. However,
perception is an important part of records managment policy. It is not
enough that our policies ensure the integrity and authenticity or the
records we manage. That integrity and authenticity is fundamentally rooted
in the *perception* of the integrity of the records managers, their
programs, and their policies. If someone is saying my RM policy isn't
trustworthy, I want to know it, and I want to know *why* they think that
way. Even if I think they are wrong, there is still a perception and
perhaps education issue to be addressed.

I know discussions with political dimensions can become personal very
easily. However, I think as professionals, we can at times set aside out
political lens to look as issues just through our records management lens.

That's my two cents.

Christopher P. Ferry, CRM
ASRC Primus

OSRR Records & Information Center
Office of Site Remediation and Restoration, US EPA New England

*Opinions expressed here do not represent ASRC Primus or EPA. They are
purely personal*

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