WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency failed to train employees to search secret government email accounts used by senior officials for messages they were required to turn over under public records requests and congressional inquiries, the inspector general said Monday in a new report. It said senior officials who used the accounts said they did not intend to circumvent federal records laws.

Congress asked the inspector general to perform its inquiry amid concerns over the use of secret government email accounts and personal, nongovernment email accounts for work. Such practices complicate agencies’ legal responsibilities when they are compelled to search for and release emails as part of congressional or internal investigations, civil lawsuits and public records requests. That’s because employees assigned to compile such responses would need to know about the accounts to search them.