Overview of Federal Real Property Disposal Requirements and Procedures

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Overview of Federal Real Property Disposal

Requirements and Procedures

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Specialist in American National Government

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Specialist in National Defense

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Analyst in Environmental Policy

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Specialist in Environmental Policy

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Legislative Attorney

December 10, 2014

Congressional Research Service

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R43818

Overview of Federal Real Property Disposal Requirements and Procedures

Summary

The federal government holds thousands of properties that agencies no longer need to accomplish

their missions. When the government disposes of unneeded properties—through transfer,

donation, or sale—it generates savings by eliminating maintenance costs. In addition, when state

or local governments, nonprofits, or businesses acquire unneeded federal properties, they may be

used to provide services to the public, such as temporary housing, or contribute to economic

development.

The General Services Administration (GSA) plays a central role in disposing of unneeded

property at most federal agencies. The Federal Real Property and Administrative Services Act of

1949 (Property Act) gives GSA the authority to dispose of real property at all federal agencies

unless they have independent statutory authority to dispose of their own properties themselves. A

number of agencies have independent disposal authority—ranging from limited to broad in

scope—including two of the largest federal landholders, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and the

Department of Defense.

When an agency notifies GSA that it has unneeded real property, GSA first offers to transfer the

property to another federal agency, which must pay fair market value for it. If no other agency

wishes to acquire the property, GSA may then convey it to a state or local government, or a

qualified nonprofit, for up to a 100% discount—provided it is used for an approved public

benefit. Should a state or local government or qualified nonprofit wish to acquire the property for

a use other than one of the approved public benefits, GSA has the option to sell the property to

them at fair market value. Finally, if the property is not sold to a public or nonprofit entity, it is

offered for sale to the public.

The disposal of a federal property may be subject to a number of environmental requirements and

historic preservation mandates, although which requirements apply depends on a number of sitespecific conditions. Three principal federal statutes govern the environmental review process,

identification and remediation of hazardous substances, and historic preservation: the National

Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), the Comprehensive Environmental Response,

Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), and the National Historic Preservation Act

(NHPA).

Among the agencies with independent statutory disposal authority, USPS has the greatest

autonomy. The Postal Service has, in essence, been granted the authority to dispose of its

properties as it deems appropriate, without the assistance of GSA. DOD also has independent

statutory disposal authority, but of a more limited scope. DOD must use GSA to dispose of all

properties that do not otherwise fall under the scope of special, temporary disposal authorities,

commonly referred to as Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) legislation.

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Overview of Federal Real Property Disposal Requirements and Procedures

Contents

Introduction...................................................................................................................................... 1

Centralized Disposal Through the General Services Administration .............................................. 2

Federal Transfer ......................................................................................................................... 2

Public Benefit Conveyance ....................................................................................................... 3

Negotiated Sale.......................................................................................................................... 4

Public Sale ................................................................................................................................. 5

Real Property Disposal at USPS and DOD...................................................................................... 5

U.S. Postal Service .................................................................................................................... 5

Disposal of Postal Properties............................................................................................... 6

Department of Defense .............................................................................................................. 6

Routine Disposal of Real Property ...................................................................................... 7

BRAC: Special Temporary Disposal Authorities and Procedures....................................... 8

Identification of Property under BRAC .............................................................................. 9

Approval and Implementation of Closures and Realignments ............................................ 9

Disposal of Real Property ................................................................................................. 10

Environmental Requirements and Historic Preservation ............................................................... 10

The National Environmental Policy Act .................................................................................. 12

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act .................. 15

Continuing Liability of the United States.......................................................................... 16

Transfer of Uncontaminated Parcels ................................................................................. 16

Early Transfer of Contaminated Parcels............................................................................ 17

National Historic Preservation Act .......................................................................................... 18

Contacts

Author Contact Information........................................................................................................... 20

Congressional Research Service

Overview of Federal Real Property Disposal Requirements and Procedures

Introduction

Federal executive branch agencies hold an extensive real property portfolio that includes more

than 871,000 buildings and structures, and 40 million acres of land worldwide.1 These assets have

been acquired over a period of decades to help agencies fulfill their diverse missions. Agencies

hold properties with a range of uses, including barracks, health clinics, warehouses, laboratories,

national parks, boat docks, and offices. As agencies’ missions change over time, so, too, do their

real property needs, thereby rendering some assets less useful or unneeded altogether. Healthcare

provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), for example, has shifted in recent decades

from predominately hospital-based inpatient care to a greater reliance on clinics and outpatient

care, with a resulting change in space needs.2 Similarly, the Department of Defense (DOD)

reduced its force structure by 36% after the Cold War ended, and has engaged in several rounds

of base realignments and installation closures.3

Real property disposition is the process by which federal agencies identify and then transfer,

donate, or sell facilities and land they no longer need. Disposition is an important assetmanagement function because the costs of maintaining unneeded properties can be substantial. In

FY2013, for example, the government disposed of 21,464 unneeded properties with annual

operating costs of $411 million.4 Savings generated by the disposal of unneeded properties might

be applied to pressing real property needs, such as improving building security or repairing

existing facilities, or towards other pressing policy issues, such as reducing the national debt.

Disposition is also important because it is a mechanism by which state and local governments,

nonprofit organizations, and businesses may acquire federal property. In the hands of nonfederal

entities, the previously underutilized properties may be used to provide services to the public,

such as temporary housing, or contribute to economic development.

This report begins with an explanation of the central role played by the General Services

Administration (GSA) in the disposal of federal real property at most agencies. It then provides a

discussion of the unique disposal processes at DOD and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), which

each have independent statutory authority to dispose of their own properties. It concludes with an

overview of the environmental and historic preservation requirements that apply to the disposal of

properties at all federal agencies.

Federal Real Property Council, FY2013 Federal Real Property Report: An Overview of the U.S. Federal

Government’s Real Property Assets, August 2014, p. 1.

U.S. Government Accountability Office, Federal Real Property: Progress Made in Reducing Unneeded Property, but

VA Needs Better Information to Make Further Reductions, GAO-08-939, September 2008, p. 9.

U.S. Government Accountability Office, Federal Real Property: Excess and Underutilized Property is an Ongoing

Problem, GAO-06-248, February 2006, p. 3. For more information, see CRS Report R40476, Base Realignment and

Closure (BRAC): Transfer and Disposal of Military Property, by (name redacted).

Federal Real Property Council, FY2013 Federal Real Property Report: An Overview of the U.S. Federal

Government’s Real Property Assets, August 2014, p. 15.

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Overview of Federal Real Property Disposal Requirements and Procedures

Centralized Disposal Through the General Services

Administration5

The Federal Real Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (Property Act) applies to real

property held by most federal agencies.6 The Property Act gives GSA the authority to dispose of

real property that federal agencies no longer need, although some agencies have been granted the

authority to dispose of some or all of their own property.7 Under the provisions of the Property

Act, GSA disposes of federal real property for federal agencies that lack independent statutory

authority to do so themselves. Agencies without independent disposal authority generally follow

the process described in this section. The disposal processes at two landholding agencies with

broad independent disposal authority, DOD and USPS, are also discussed in this report.

Federal Transfer

In order to identify properties that agencies no longer need, each agency is required to conduct an

annual survey of its real property holdings. Properties that are no longer needed are reported to

GSA as “excess.”8 GSA then physically inspects each excess property and hires a licensed

appraiser to evaluate its fair market value.9 Next, GSA sends a written Notice of Availability

describing the property to other federal agencies and posts information about the property on its

Property Disposal Resource Center website.10 Agencies may also identify unneeded assets

available for transfer through the Federal Real Property Profile (FRPP), a database of the

buildings, structures, and land held by federal agencies.11 If an agency wants to acquire an excess

This section was written by (name redacted), Specialist in American National Government, x7-.....

40 U.S.C. §101 et. seq. Land reserved for national forest or national park purposes, and Bureau of Land Management

properties, are not covered by these disposal rules. Other legislation that governs federal agency real property disposal

includes the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. §470 et. seq.), which establishes guidelines for agency

disposition of historic properties, and the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. §11411), which

requires agencies to make surplus real property available first for homeless use before making it available for other

purposes. In addition, Executive Order 13327, signed in 2004 by President George W. Bush, established (1) Senior

Real Property Officers (SRPOs) at 24 of the largest landholding agencies to monitor and manage their agencies’ real

property, (2) a Federal Real Property Council, comprised of SRPOs, to evaluate agency real property policies and

practices, and (3) the Federal Real Property Profile, a database with information on agency real property holdings,

including disposition data.

The Department of Defense has the authority to dispose of unneeded real property that is subject to the Base

Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, but GSA disposes of non-BRAC real property. The U.S. Postal Service has

the authority to dispose of all of its real property. The Departments of State, Veterans Affairs, Education, Health and

Human Services, the Interior, and Agriculture also have the authority to dispose of some unneeded real property,

although the scope of that authority varies widely.

40 U.S.C. §102.

U.S. General Services Administration, Customer Guide to Real Property Disposal, p. 17, at

http://www.missionumatilla.com/documents/historical_data/HD0013_PropertyDisposalClosureGuide_GSA.pdf.

The Office of Real Property Utilization and Disposal website address is https://extportal.pbs.gsa.gov/

ResourceCenter/viewproperties.do?noticetype=1.

Only the 24 federal agencies are required to report their real property data annually to the FRPP, although other

agencies have the option of reporting. The agencies that are required to report are the Departments of Agriculture,

Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban

Development, the Interior, Justice, Labor, State, Transportation, the Treasury, and Veterans Affairs; Environmental

Protection Agency; General Services Administration; National Aeronautics and Space Administration; National

Science Foundation; Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Office of Personnel Management; Small Business

(continued...)

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Overview of Federal Real Property Disposal Requirements and Procedures

property, it must respond to the Notice of Availability within 30 days and then submit a formal

request for the property to be transferred within 60 days from the date the notice expires.

Agencies are required to pay fair market value to acquire excess property, although there are a

number of circumstances under which an exception to this requirement may be approved.12

Public Benefit Conveyance

If no federal agency wants an unneeded property, it is declared “surplus” and made available to

state and local governments, and nonprofits.13 These entities may have surplus property

transferred to them for a discount of up to 100% of fair market value, provided they use the

property for a public benefit.14 This type of transfer is called a public benefit conveyance, and to

qualify, the property must be used for one of the following purposes:

•

Homeless services

•

Corrections

•

Law enforcement

•

Public health

•

Drug rehabilitation

•

Education

•

Parks and recreation

•

Seaport facilities

•

Wildlife conservation

•

Highways

•

Emergency Management Response

•

Historic monuments

•

Public airports

•

Housing

Each public benefit category has a federal agency, called a sponsor, that oversees conveyances for

that purpose. Generally, sponsoring agencies have expertise in the policy areas they sponsor. The

Federal Aviation Administration, for example, is the sponsoring agency for public airport

conveyances.15

(...continued)

Administration; Social Security Administration; and United States Agency for International Development.

See 41 C.F.R. §102-75.1275; 41 C.F.R. §§102-75.190-102-75.225; and 40 U.S.C. §522. When an agency is required

to pay fair market value for a property, the government does not realize any new revenue since the funds are being

transferred from another federal agency.

40 U.S.C. §102.

40 U.S.C. §549.

40 U.S.C. §550. The agencies that sponsor conveyances are the Departments of Education (education), Health and

Human Services (public health, homeless services), the Interior (parks and recreation, historic monuments, wildlife

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Overview of Federal Real Property Disposal Requirements and Procedures

Pursuant to Title V of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, surplus properties must be

made available for serving the homeless before being made available for other public benefit

uses.16 The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is responsible for reviewing

surplus property to determine if it is suitable for homeless use. If a property is determined to be

unsuitable for homeless use, then it becomes available for other public uses at that time. If HUD

determines a surplus property is suitable, however, it publishes a notice to that effect in the

Federal Register. State and local governments, and nonprofits, are given 60 days to notify the

sponsoring agency, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), that they are interested

in using the property for serving the homeless.17 If HHS receives an expression of interest within

the 60-day window, the property may not be made available for any other purpose until action on

the request is complete. If no interest is expressed, then the property becomes available for other

public benefit uses.18 GSA advertises its availability by contacting state and local officials and

known nonprofits with an interest in the property. GSA may also post notices in city halls, state

capitols, and other appropriate locations.19 The sponsoring agency is generally responsible for

distributing, reviewing, and approving applications; conveying the property to the recipient; and

monitoring the use of the property after it has been transferred, although GSA assists some

agencies with these duties.20 If the recipient of a conveyed property fails to use the property as

agreed—by building a retail center on property conveyed for a public park, for example—then

the property may revert back to the federal government.

Negotiated Sale

Surplus property that is not disposed of through the public benefit conveyance process may be

sold to state and local governments at fair market value.21 In essence, state and local governments

are given the right of first refusal—they are allowed an opportunity to purchase surplus property

before the property is offered for sale to the general public. Federal real property regulations

permit negotiated sales when “a public benefit, which would not be realized from a competitive

sale, will result from the negotiated sale.”22 The regulations do not specify what types of activities

would qualify, but GSA guidance notes that a state or local government can use property

“according to its own redevelopment needs,” including economic development.23

(...continued)

conservation), Justice (correctional), Transportation (port facility), Housing and Urban Development (housing), Justice

(law enforcement), Homeland Security (emergency management response), and the Federal Aviation Authority (public

airports).

42 U.S.C. 11411.

41 C.F.R. §102-75.1200.

Conveyances, other than McKinney Act transfers, are at the discretion of the agency and are not required by statute.

U.S. General Services Administration, Surplus Real Property Available for Public Use: Notification Procedure, GSA

website, at http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?contentType=GSA_BASIC&contentId=20146.

U.S. General Services Administration, Customer Guide to Real Property, p. 25. The General Services Administration

is responsible for deeding, conveyance, and compliance monitoring of correctional, law enforcement, and emergency

management conveyances, and for just deeding and conveyance of properties to be used for historic monuments, or

public airports.

41 C.F.R. §102-75.880(d); 40 U.S.C. §545.

Ibid.

U.S. General Services Administration, Office of Real Property Utilization and Disposal, “How to Acquire Federal

Property,” at https://extportal.pbs.gsa.gov/ResourceCenter/content/acquireFedProp.do.

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Overview of Federal Real Property Disposal Requirements and Procedures

Public Sale

Surplus properties that are still available after screening for public benefit conveyance and

negotiated sale may be offered for public sale. The property is advertised in local newspapers,

regional or national publications, and the U.S. Real Estate Sales list, and may also be found on

GSA’s website.24 The appraised value of a property is used as a guideline for initial pricing, and

properties are sold through sealed bids, physical auctions, and Internet auctions.25

Real Property Disposal at USPS and DOD

DOD and USPS are two of the three largest federal landholding agencies, as measured by owned

square feet. DOD is the largest, with more than 1.7 billion square feet of owned space in its

inventory, while USPS is the third largest with 197 million square feet of owned space.26 Both

DOD and USPS have independent statutory authority to dispose of unneeded real property,

although the scope of that authority differs. While USPS has been given autonomy in disposing of

all of its properties, DOD’s disposal authorities are more limited and more complicated. The

remainder of this section discusses the disposal process at each agency.

U.S. Postal Service27

Congress has given USPS independent statutory authority to dispose of its real estate as it deems

proper.28 USPS may

acquire, in any lawful manner, such personal or real property, or any interest therein, as it

deems necessary or convenient in the transaction of its business; to hold, maintain, sell,

lease, or otherwise dispose of such property or any interest therein; and to provide services in

connection therewith and charges therefor.29

Allowing USPS to make decisions over its real estate and property holdings has been viewed as

integral to the concept of the USPS as encapsulated in the Postal Reorganization Act (PRA).30

This 1970 statute replaced the Post Office Department (an appropriations-dependent agency) with

the U.S. Postal Service (a financially self-supporting “independent establishment of the executive

branch.”31 The PRA assigned USPS the “general duty” to “maintain an efficient system of

collection, sorting, and delivery of the mail nationwide.”32 In order to carry out this obligation,

General Services Administration, Office of Real Property Utilization and Disposal, Current Sales webpage, at

https://extportal.pbs.gsa.gov/ResourceCenter/PRHomePage/loadPRHomePage.do?type=full.

General Services Administration, Customer Guide to Real Property Disposal, p. 27.

Federal Real Property Council, FY2013 Federal Real Property Report: An Overview of the U.S. Federal

Government’s Real Property Assets, August 2014, p. 1.

This section was prepared by (name redacted), Specialist in American National Government.

Thus, for example, Congress exempted USPS from the federal property disposition statutes (40 U.S.C. §101).

39 U.S.C. 401(5).

P.L. 91-375; 84 Stat. 725 (39 U.S.C. §101 et seq.)

39 U.S.C. 201. With the PRA, Congress relinquished a great deal of control over USPS’s operations as that control

had proven problematic. Congressional directives often inhibited the Post Office Department from controlling its

operating costs and increasing its prices.

39 U.S.C. §403(b).

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Overview of Federal Real Property Disposal Requirements and Procedures

Congress provided USPS with a number of powers to generate revenue and control its operational

costs, including the authority to “determine the need for post offices, postal and training facilities

and equipment, and ... provide such offices, facilities, and equipment as it determines are

needed.”33 This authority over real property has helped USPS respond to shifts in population by

expanding its presence in areas where the number of people and businesses was growing, and

scaling back USPS’s operational footprint in places where population was decreasing. This

authority over its property and facilities also permits USPS to alter its logistical (mail-moving)

network to accommodate mail volume changes and technological developments in mail

processing.34

Disposal of Postal Properties

USPS policy is to dispose of excess real property under the terms and conditions that provide the

greatest value to the Postal Service. Disposition may be by sale, exchange, outlease, sublease, or

by other means determined to be in the best interest of the Postal Service.35 In addition, USPS has

employed private real estate companies to sell some of its excess or unneeded properties.36 The

agency also has auctioned some of its properties, including the Chicago Main Post Office, a 14story property of 3 million square feet.37

Both federal law and the USPS’s rules prescribe a post office closure process, which takes at least

120 days.38 The USPS must notify members of the public who may be affected by the closure,

and hold a 60-day comment period prior to closing a post office. Should the USPS decide to close

a post office, the public has 30 days to appeal the decision to the Postal Regulatory Commission

(PRC).39 Sixty days after USPS has made a closure decision, the agency may shut down a post

office, regardless of the outcome of the PRC’s review.40 Federal statute does not require USPS to

take public comment when it disposes of properties that are not post offices, such as properties

utilized as office space.

Department of Defense41

DOD comprises the Office of the Secretary of Defense (which includes all defense agencies and

field activities); the Joint Chiefs of Staff; the Combatant Commands (such as Central Command,

Northern Command, and Strategic Command); and the military departments of the Army, Navy,

39 U.S.C. §404(a)(13).

Over the past century, the proportion of mail sorted by postal workers has greatly declined with the advent of

machinery that can read the addresses on letters and parcels and sort them according to their destination.

U.S. Postal Service, U.S. Postal Service Facilities Guide to Real Property Acquisitions and Related Services,

Handbook RE-1, October 2008, p. 15, at https://about.usps.com/handbooks/re1.pdf.

For example, see http://www.uspspropertiesforsale.com/.

Staff, “Let the Bidding Begin,” Chicago Tribune, August 27, 2009, at http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-08-27/

news/0908260669_1_condos-minimum-bid-requirement-real-estate.

39 U.S.C. 404(d); and 39 C.F.R. 241, “Post Office Organization and Administration: Establishment, Classification,

and Discontinuance,” at 76 F.R. 41413-41424, July 14, 2011

39 U.S.C. 404(d) sets the PRC’s role in the appeals process.

For a more detailed description of the post office closure process, see CRS Report R41950, The U.S. Postal Service:

Common Questions About Post Office Closures, by (name redacted), pp. 6-7.

This section was prepared by (name redacted), Specialist in National Defense.

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Overview of Federal Real Property Disposal Requirements and Procedures

and Air Force. All real property is placed under the jurisdiction of one of the military

departments.

Individual defense facilities fall under the immediate responsibility of a local installation military

officer who could be referred to as the garrison commander, the base wing commander, the base

commander, or the station commander, depending on the service administering the site.

The following sections will first describe the identification and disposal of military real property

under routine practice, then the special procedures that were authorized under the Defense Base

Closure and Realignment Act of 1990,42 as amended. The latter process is commonly known as a

Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round.

Routine Disposal of Real Property

The officers entrusted with administration of a defense site are required to periodically review the

current and anticipated utilization of its land and facilities. A change in military strategy or

doctrine, mission, operations, military equipment, or units based at a given facility could similarly

change the need for site infrastructure. If the officer in charge determines that certain real

property is no longer needed, he or she forwards a recommendation to “excess” the property up

the appropriate chain of command. The final authority for declaring real property to be excess

rests with the Secretary of the relevant military department, though the responsibility for

managing real property inventory is usually delegated to an Assistant Secretary.

Once defense property is identified as excess, the administering military service submits a report

to GSA. Other defense organizations, both active and reserve, may request that all or part of it be

transferred to them. GSA then screens the property for potential use by other federal agencies. If

no agency expresses interest within a reasonable period, the property is considered surplus, and

GSA then directs and supervises the disposal process discussed elsewhere in this report.

Congress has imposed several statutory disposal restrictions and reporting requirements on DOD

and codified them in a number of sections within Title 10 (Armed Forces) of the United States

Code. Included among them are

•

10 U.S.C. 2662, which requires that, for real property with an estimated value in

excess of $750,000, the Secretary concerned report to the House and Senate

Committees on Armed Services any (1) transfer of real property to another

federal agency or another military department or to a State, or (2) report of excess

real property to a disposal agency (such as GSA), wait 30 days (14 days if the

report is made by electronic medium) before undertaking the transaction, and

report again within 30 days of entering into the transaction;

•

10 U.S.C. 2694a, a section that authorizes a Secretary to convey to a State, one of

its political subdivisions, or a nonprofit organization any surplus real property

under his jurisdiction that is suitable for conservation purposes, has been made

available for a public benefit conveyance,43 and is not subject to a pending

See 10 U.S.C. 2687 note.

State and local governments and certain nonprofit organizations may qualify for a public benefits conveyance of

surplus public property at reduced or no cost for a number of specified uses.

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Overview of Federal Real Property Disposal Requirements and Procedures

request for transfer to another federal agency, after notification of the relevant

congressional committees and waiting 21 days;

•

10 U.S.C. 2696, which both allows military department secretaries to transfer

real property under their jurisdiction between themselves without compensation

and requires the GSA Administrator to screen all defense real property for further

federal use before a Secretary conveys it under any provision of law enacted after

December 31, 1997, though there are some exceptions and special provisions for

land intended for use as a correctional facility.

BRAC: Special Temporary Disposal Authorities and Procedures

The cessation of operations and closing of a major military installation will often entail a

significant impact on the economy and social structure of the communities in its vicinity.

Therefore, successive Secretaries of Defense have found over the past several decades that a

number of statutory and political constraints have rendered the process, and prospects, of

significantly reducing the defense real property “footprint” problematic.

Since the waning days of the Cold War, Congress has from time to time granted special temporary

authority to the Secretary of Defense to carry out wholesale reviews of domestic defense real

property with the intention of evaluating and reducing the inventory deemed excess to defense

needs and surplus to federal requirements. All told, five defense real property disposal series have

thus far been authorized. Though created under different laws, each series has become commonly

referred to as a Base Realignment and Closure, or BRAC, round.44 The most recent authorization

for a BRAC round expired on April 15, 2006, so any new effort would have to be authorized by

the enactment of a new provision of law.

While BRAC rounds have not seen an alteration of the general three-step process (identification,

screening, and disposal), the temporary statutes creating them have added a number of features

that enhanced oversight of DOD, offered assistance to the communities affected, and increased

the transparency of the mechanism by which garrisons are reconfigured and installations are

realigned to new missions or shuttered. In addition, many of the provisions of the McKinneyVento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11301 et seq.) and the National Environmental Policy

Act (42 U.S.C. § 4321 et seq.) have been applied to property closed under BRAC much as they

do to other federal surplus property.

The differences between the normal real property disposal process carried out by GSA and that

initiated by DOD during a BRAC round can be summarized around their three general phases,

identification, screening, and disposal. The details following pertain to the processes used during

the most recent (2005) BRAC round carried out under the FY2002 reauthorization of the Defense

Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990.

So-called BRAC rounds were carried out in 1988, 1991, 1993, 1995, and 2005. The 1988 round was authorized by

Defense Authorization Amendments and Base Closure and Realignment Act (P.L. 100-526, §1, 102 Stat. 2623). The

1991, 1993, and 1995 rounds were authorized by the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (part A of

Title XXIX of P.L. 101-510). Both acts were codified in 10 U.S.C. 2687 note. The 2005 round was created in a

reauthorization of the 1990 law enacted in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 (P.L. 107-107,

Division A, Title X, Subtitle E, §1048(d)(2), Division B, Title XXVIII, Subtitle C, §2821(b), Title XXX, §§3001-3007,

115 Stat. 1227, 1312, 1342).

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Overview of Federal Real Property Disposal Requirements and Procedures

Identification of Property under BRAC

During the 2005 BRAC round, the Secretary of Defense was required to draw up and submit to

Congress a “force-structure plan,” based on an assessment by the Secretary of the probable

threats to the national security during the 20-year period beginning with FY2005, the probable

end-strength levels and major military force units (including land force divisions, carrier and

other major combatant vessels, air wings, and other comparable units) needed to meet these

threats, and the anticipated levels of funding that will be available for national defense purposes

during such period45 and a comprehensive world-wide inventory of military installations for each

military department, with specifications of the number and type of facilities in the active and

reserve forces of each military department.46

DOD was required in the statute to use a set of eight “final selection criteria,” divided into

“military value criteria” and “other criteria,” in making recommendations for closure or

realignment. Roughly paraphrased, the four military value criteria for each installation centered

on (1) mission capabilities and readiness, (2) availability of facilities, (3) capacity to absorb

mobilization surges, and (4) the cost of operations. Other criteria included (1) timing of potential

savings, (2) economic impact on surrounding communities, (3) ability of communities to support

the installation, and (4) environmental impact. The statute required that only these criteria be used

and that priority consideration be given to the military value criteria.47

Once identified by DOD, the Secretary of Defense submitted his list of recommended closures or

realignments to an independent nine-member commission for further consideration. Appointed by

the President, with congressional input, and confirmed by the Senate, the commission and its staff

were required to hold public hearings on the Secretary’s recommendations. During its

deliberations, the statute allowed the commission to add a new installation to the closure or

realignment lists or increase the extent of a realignment only if it determined “that the Secretary

deviated substantially from the force-structure plan and final criteria” specified earlier and

concluded that its amendment was consistent with both. The statute required the commission to

submit its own report to the President by a date certain.

Approval and Implementation of Closures and Realignments

After receiving the commission’s report, the President was given a finite period of time to submit

to Congress and the commission his approval or disapproval of the commission’s

recommendations. If he disapproved, in whole or in part, the commission’s list of

recommendations, he was instructed to state his reasons for doing so. The commission then had

approximately one month in which to revise and resubmit its list. A second disapproval would

have halted the process.48

Once having received the President’s certification of approval, Congress gave itself a period of 45

days during which it could pass a joint resolution of disapproval using an expedited procedure

laid out in the governing statute. If enacted, such a joint resolution would prevent the Secretary of

Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990, as amended, Section 2912(a)(1)(A).

Ibid., Section 2912(a)(1)(B).

Ibid., Section 2913.

The President has not yet disapproved any commission’s recommendation list.

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Defense from carrying out any recommended closure or realignment.49 If not thereby halted, the

statute required the Secretary of Defense to initiate all closures and realignments within two years

and complete them within six years of the date that the President recorded his approval.

Disposal of Real Property

The statute provided the Secretary of Defense with authority to offer economic adjustment

assistance to any community near a closing or realigning military installation and community

planning assistance to communities whose local installations absorb functions during the

process.50 This assistance has usually been channeled through “local redevelopment authorities”

(LRA) nominated by the affected communities and so designated by the Secretary of Defense. It

is to these LRAs that title to surplus property is usually conveyed.

The base closure acts have also provided other special authorities. Their provisions have directed

the GSA Administrator to delegate to the Secretary of Defense his or her authorities to utilize

excess properties and dispose of surplus properties for installations being closed or realigned. In

addition to being able to dispose of surplus property at below market value through public benefit

conveyances, the Secretary has been able to do the same if the LRA has agreed to apply proceeds

from the sale or lease of property to the economic redevelopment of the site.

While DOD retains responsibility for the remediation of environmental contamination at former

defense sites, the statute places no time limit on either remediation or on the conveyance of the

property from the federal government.

Environmental Requirements and Historic

Preservation

The transfer of surplus federal property may be subject to an array of environmental requirements

intended to protect human health and safety, natural resources, and cultural resources.51 Which

requirements may apply to the transfer of a property would depend upon the site-specific

conditions, such as the presence of wastes, contamination, and other potential hazards. For

example, federal facilities that manage hazardous wastes or underground storage tanks are subject

to closure requirements similar to private industrial facilities. If contamination is present,

remediation may be required to prevent potentially harmful exposures subsequent to transfer.

Some federal facilities also may contain more unique hazards, such as unexploded ordnance on

DOD installations or radiological wastes from the past production of nuclear weapons at

Department of Energy (DOE) facilities. Federal facilities not involved in industrial operations

For more information on joint resolutions, see CRS Report 98-728, Bills, Resolutions, Nominations, and Treaties:

Characteristics, Requirements, and Uses, by (name redacted) and CRS Report 98-706, Bills and Resolutions: Examples

of How Each Kind Is Used, by (name redacted). Though resolutions have been introduced in one chamber or the other

during every BRAC round, none has survived its initial floor vote.

The Secretary’s Office of Economic Adjustment has served as the principal organization through which such

assistance has been offered.

An overview of environmental requirements that may apply to the transfer of surplus federal property is available in

the General Services Administration (GSA) “Environmental Framework for Real Property Disposal” at

http://propertydisposal.gsa.gov/EnvironmentalInfo.

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still may contain hazardous substances from other sources that could present challenges for

transfer and reuse, such as asbestos or lead-based paint in buildings. In addition to human health

and safety hazards, the potential impacts of a transfer on certain natural or cultural resources

(such as historic buildings) also must be assessed. How such resources would be protected by the

recipient of a federal property subsequent to transfer may be a potential issue.

The time and resources necessary for compliance with environmental and historical requirements

may vary considerably among individual properties depending on applicability. The process of

determining which federal requirements may apply and how compliance must be demonstrated is

sometimes referred to as the environmental review process (or environmental and historical

review). Actions necessary to complete the review process are generally integrated into the

broader due diligence process established in federal regulation, during which the landholding

agency would be required to assess and determine various details about the property, such as52

•

any past activities or present conditions at the site that could pose a human health

or safety hazard—the existence of mold hazards, radon hazards, asbestoscontaining materials, or lead-based paint in any building; whether pesticides have

been applied in the management of the property; or whether past activities at the

site resulted in the release of hazardous substances that must be remediated;

•

the property’s location—in a federally designated floodplain, wetland, or coastal

zone; or in an area that contains federally threatened or endangered species; and

•

the property’s historical significance—a site, buildings or fixtures on the site that

are historically, architecturally, or culturally significant.

For each criterion, at a minimum, the landholding agency would be required to evaluate the

property to determine whether or not such conditions or issues exist. Depending on that

evaluation, the agency may be required to comply with certain environmental laws, regulations,

or executive orders before they can make a final decision regarding the disposition of the

property. Certain federal requirements may apply specifically because the property disposition

would involve a transfer from federal ownership. That is, the disposition may be subject to certain

requirements that generally would not apply (or could apply differently) to property transfers

between nonfederal agencies or private entities. The principal federal statutes that govern the

environmental review process, identification and remediation of hazardous substances, and

historic preservation are outlined below, followed by a summary of the requirements of each

statute. Other federal and state laws also may apply to a property transfer depending on the sitespecific conditions.

•

The National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. §§4321 et seq.).

Under NEPA, federal agencies must consider the environmental impacts of an

action before making a final decision about that action. With regard to surplus

property disposal, the responsible federal agency would be required to identify

impacts associated with both reporting the property as excess and disposal of the

GSA regulations identifying the information required from federal departments and agencies for property declared

excess to their needs are codified at 41 C.F.R. Part 102-75, Subpart B. The criteria that must be evaluated under these

regulations before GSA will accept a property for disposal also are identified in GSA’s “Excess Real Property

Checklist” (available at http://propertydisposal.gsa.gov/FAA). The checklist is a supplement to its “Standard Form

118, Report of Excess Real Property.” When the Postal Service, DOD, and DOD agencies dispose of their own excess

real property, each agency is required to evaluate similar criteria.

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property, but not necessarily its future development that would not constitute a

federal action itself.

•

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

of 1980 (CERCLA; 42 U.S.C. §§9601 et seq.). Section 120(h) of CERCLA

generally requires federal agencies to clean up contaminated federal property

prior to transferring the property out of federal ownership, unless assurances are

provided that the cleanup will be carried out subsequent to transfer and certain

conditions are satisfied. To ensure compliance with CERCLA, a federal agency

would be required to certify whether or not hazardous substance activity took

place during the period of federal ownership and whether, as a result, hazardous

substances were released that may warrant remediation.

•

The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA; 16 U.S.C. §§470 et seq.). Section

106 of NHPA requires any federal agency with jurisdiction over a proposed

federal undertaking to take into account the effect that the undertaking will have

on any district, site, building, structure, or object that is included in or eligible for

inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (i.e., a property significant in

American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, or culture).

Some level of compliance with NEPA and CERCLA generally would be required for all federal

agency actions related to the closure and disposal of federal surplus property, at least to document

whether there would be any significant environmental impacts with respect to NEPA and whether

hazardous substances may be present with respect to CERCLA. Compliance with NHPA would

be required if the property being disposed is included or eligible for inclusion in the National

environmental impacts associated with the property disposal, under NEPA, the responsible

agency would incorporate information on how compliance with CERCLA would be demonstrated

and whether compliance with any other laws, such as NHPA, would be required.

The National Environmental Policy Act53

Signed into law in 1970, NEPA has been interpreted as having two primary goals—to ensure that

federal agencies consider the environmental impacts of their actions before a final decision is

made about the action, and to require those agencies to inform the public of those impacts. As a

procedural statute, NEPA is intended to inform a federal agency’s decision-making process, but

does not require that agency to elevate environmental concerns above others.

Regulations implementing NEPA were promulgated by the Council on Environmental Quality

(CEQ).54 Those regulations identify actions subject to NEPA to include those over which a federal

agency55 has some control or responsibility.56 For example, NEPA may apply to federal agency

decisions on the adoption of agency plans and the approval of specific projects. That is, any

This section was prepared by (name redacted), Analyst in Environmental Policy.

40 C.F.R. Parts 1500-1508.

“Federal agencies” are defined at 40 C.F.R. §1508.12 to include all agencies of the federal government, but not

Congress, the Judiciary, or the President.

40 C.F.R. §1508.18.

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planning decision or approval that must be made by the landholding agency regarding surplus

property disposal may be subject to some level of review under NEPA.

For non-BRAC properties, agency actions subject to NEPA generally include those related to

decisions regarding the (1) closure of the facility and reporting it as excess; and (2) disposition of

the property.57 After it accepts a property for disposal from another federal agency, GSA takes

responsibility for completing the NEPA process for any subsequent disposal-related activities.

However, the landholding agency would be required to complete any necessary NEPA review for

actions that pertain to its decision to report the property as excess.

While multiple actions related to surplus property disposal may be subject to NEPA, the analysis

required to document compliance is usually limited. The most extensive level of analysis, the

preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS), is rarely required for surplus property

disposal. An EIS is required for actions that will significantly affect the quality of the human

environment.58 Among other requirements, it must identify and analyze any impacts of the

proposal and identify all reasonable alternatives to the proposal, as well as the impacts of those

alternatives. With the exception of federal actions undertaken as part of the BRAC process,

federal real property disposal rarely involves significant environmental impacts.

For federal real estate transactions, significant impacts generally occur (i.e., the preparation of an

EIS may be required) when the action is likely to involve major new construction. That may be

the case when a federal agency is buying property for development, but not generally when

disposing of a property. While a property transferred from federal ownership may be further

developed, the landholding agency is not required to determine how a potential buyer may use the

property before making a decision to dispose of it. Often property disposal involves the

disposition of a property that has already been developed. Implementing the BRAC process,

however, involves the closure of one military property and the potential expansion of another. As

a result, decisions implementing the BRAC process have been those most likely to require the

preparation of an EIS.

Regardless of whether an EIS would be required, agencies are obligated to identify the potential

impacts of the disposition to ensure that it would not have significant impacts. If the impact of the

proposed disposition is uncertain, an agency may ensure compliance with NEPA by preparing an

environmental assessment (EA). The result would be either a decision to prepare an EIS or to

issue a finding of no significant impacts (FONSI).59 NEPA compliance may also be documented

as part of a categorical exclusion (CATEX) determination.60 A CATEX is applied to actions that

individual agencies have determined, based on their experiences with similar actions in the past,

Congress, not individual military agencies, identifies military bases that are subject to closure as part of the BRAC

process. As a result, base closure decisions are not subject to NEPA. However, the military agency responsible for the

base closure may have a certain degree of discretion in implementing the closure, as well as the action that must be

taken to realign the activities at the closing base with another facility. Actions taken to implement the base closure are

subject to NEPA.

As required at 42 U.S.C. §4322(2)(C). In accordance with the CEQ regulations, the significance of a proposal’s

impacts are determined on a case-by-case basis depending on the context and intensity of those impacts (see 40 C.F.R.

§1508.27). Also, CEQ defines the “human environment” to include the natural and physical environment and the

relationship of people with that environment (see 40 C.F.R. §1508.13).

See 40 C.F.R. §§1501.3 and 1508.9.

CATEXs are referred to as such because they are actions that are categorically excluded from the requirement to

prepare an EIS or EA.

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have no individually or cumulatively significant effect on the environment.61 CEQ allows an

action to be processed as a CATEX as long as it involves no extraordinary circumstances that

could result in significant impacts.

Each federal agency’s procedures to implement NEPA62 explicitly list actions likely to be

approved as a CE or, under certain conditions, an EA. For example GSA’s NEPA procedures

identify specific actions that can demonstrate compliance with NEPA by completing a “CATEX

checklist.”63 That checklist is used to ensure that a given action would involve no extraordinary

circumstances that would result in significant environmental impacts. Included among such

action, GSA explicitly identifies property disposal actions undertaken for another federal agency,

where that agency has already documented compliance with applicable legal requirements such as

NEPA, NHPA, and CERCLA; and disposal of real property required by public law wherein

Congress has not specifically exempted the action from the requirements of NEPA.64

A determination that the disposal of surplus federal property would result in no significant

impacts, under NEPA, is not equivalent to determining that the disposition would result in no

regulated impacts. For example, if a federal property is listed on the National Register of Historic

Places, the impact of its disposition may be deemed insignificant, but only if there are certain

restrictions placed on the future use or development of the property. Within the context of

ensuring compliance with NEPA, the landholding agency may be required to identify measures

necessary to ensure future protection of the resource. In this instance, the requirement to protect

that resource could originate with the NHPA (or any other applicable law intended to protect

cultural, archaeological, or historical resources), not NEPA. Still, the NEPA compliance process

may not be complete until decisions have been made regarding how the landholding agency will

ensure compliance with those other applicable laws.

As noted above, one of NEPA’s primary goals is to inform the public of the environmental

impacts of a proposed action. CEQ regulations implementing NEPA specify public involvement

requirements that apply primarily to actions that require an EIS. However, individual agencies

have determined that public participation may also be appropriate in the preparation of an

EA/FONSI or when determining whether the action may involve some exceptional circumstances

that would prevent the application of a CATEX. Each agency has discretion in determining the

level and kind of public participation required for such actions. For surplus property disposal, the

level of public participation will likely depend on the nature of property itself and the potential

public interest in that property’s potential closure and disposition.

There may be public opposition to the closure and disposition of surplus federal property. The

reasons for such opposition will be unique to that property. However, opposition could arise if

there is public concern that future development of the land would no longer be subject to certain

federal requirements. For example, after the property transfers from federal ownership (e.g., to a

local or state agency or to a private developer), the impacts of future development would

See 40 C.F.R. §1508.4

Each federal agency was required to adopt the CEQ regulations implementing NEPA and to supplement them with

procedures necessary to implement NEPA that are relevant to the action undertaken by that agency. GSA, USPS, and

DOD, as well as each of agency within DOD, have done so.

See the “PBS National Environmental Policy Act NEPA Desk Guide,” October 1999, Section 5.4 Checklist

CATEXs. The NEPA Desk Guide is available at http://www.gsa.gov/nepadeskguide.

See the GSA’s NEPA Desk Guide, Sections 5.4(c) and (g).

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generally not be subject to federal agency review or public comment under NEPA or NHPA.

Another example of such a law is the Archeological and Historical Preservation Act (AHPA). It

requires federal agencies to identify and recover data from archeological sites threatened by their

actions. Since a nonfederal land owner would not be required to take such action, members of the

public may want the landholding agency to ensure that the property has been adequately surveyed

to identify archeological sites or to make the sale conditional on a buyer agreeing to implement

certain actions if archeological sites are later discovered.

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and

Liability Act65

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) is the

principal federal statute that addresses releases of hazardous substances into the environment on

both federal and nonfederal lands.66 Section 120(h) of CERCLA generally requires the United

States to clean up contaminated federal property prior to transferring the property out of federal

ownership.67 The policy premise of this provision is that the United States should assume full

responsibility for the cleanup of contamination caused by federal activities, and not shift the

burden of that responsibility to the recipient merely as a consequence of acquiring the property.

Section 120(h) applies to all contaminated federal property declared surplus to the needs of the

federal government. The agency with administrative jurisdiction over a surplus federal property

generally is responsible for performing and paying for the cleanup of contamination to fulfill the

financial liability of the United States. In some cases, the recipient may voluntarily agree to pay

for the cleanup of a contaminated surplus federal property in exchange for a discounted purchase

price to acquire the property, or other conditions of ownership that the recipient may desire.

As is the case with federal facilities that remain in federal ownership, funds available for the

cleanup of surplus federal properties are subject to the availability of appropriations to the federal

agencies that administer those properties. For example, the Department of Defense (DOD)

performs and pays for the cleanup of surplus federal property on military installations closed

under a consolidated Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round out of funds appropriated to

the DOD Base Closure Account. Federal facilities generally are not eligible for cleanup funds

appropriated to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Superfund program, which

addresses nonfederal sites elevated for priority federal attention. However, EPA oversees the

cleanup of federal facilities through the Superfund program in conjunction with the states, in a

manner similar to the enforcement of cleanup liability at nonfederal sites. At federal facilities, the

administering federal agency serves as the responsible party on behalf of the United States.

Section 120(h) of CERCLA does not bind the United States to cleaning up a surplus federal

property for any one particular land use. As a result, the reuse of a property is negotiated between

the administering federal agency and the recipient of the property. Disagreements over reuse can

arise if the recipient intends to use the property for a purpose that would necessitate a level of

This section was prepared by (name reda cted), Specialist in Environmental Policy.

42 U.S.C. §9601 et seq. For a broader discussion of CERCLA, see CRS Report R41039, Comprehensive

Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act: A Summary of Superfund Cleanup Authorities and Related

Provisions of the Act, by (name redacted).

42 U.S.C. §9620(h).

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cleanup that the federal agency may consider too costly, relative to available appropriations to

fund the cleanup. The capabilities of cleanup technologies also could constrain the reuse of a

surplus federal property, if it would be impractical to achieve a level of cleanup that would be

needed to make the property suitable for a use that the recipient may desire.

Continuing Liability of the United States

Consistent with the policy premise of Section 120(h) of CERCLA and retroactive liability under

Section 10768 of the statute, the United States remains responsible for contamination found not to

have been sufficiently remediated after the property is transferred out of federal ownership.

Section 120(h)(3) requires the continuing liability of the United States to be specified through a

“covenant” incorporated into the deed transferring the property out of federal ownership.69 The

covenant must warrant that all remedial actions necessary to protect human health and the

environment have been taken before the date of transfer, and that the United States shall conduct

any additional remedial actions found to be necessary after the date of transfer. A clause also must

be included in the deed granting the United States access to the property to perform cleanup

actions for which it may be responsible.

In practice, the contents of a deed can place certain limitations on the continuing responsibility of

the United States. A deed to a transferred federal property typically warrants cleanup only to a

level suitable for the land use negotiated prior to transfer. In some cases, a deed may include a

restriction prohibiting certain uses that would be considered unsuitable relative to the level of

cleanup performed by the United States. Under such deed restrictions, the United States typically

assumes responsibility for additional cleanup only to the extent that more work is found to be

needed to make the originally agreed-upon use suitable.

If the new owner later decides to use the property for a different purpose, the new owner typically

must assume responsibility for the additional cleanup costs to make the property suitable for the

desired purpose. In some instances, a deed may prohibit certain land uses even if the new owner

is willing to pay the cleanup costs. For example, a deed to a decommissioned military training

range may prohibit residential or other land uses because of limitations on cleanup technologies

to detect and remove unexploded ordnance. Cleanup capabilities may be constrained especially

when ordnance is located beneath the surface, or concealed on the surface by dense vegetation.

Transfer of Uncontaminated Parcels

Some surplus federal properties may contain a mix of contaminated and uncontaminated parcels

of land. Although the clean parcels may be ready for reuse, the requirement to clean up the

contaminated parcels under Section 120(h) of CERCLA prior to transfer could delay the

conveyance of the property as a whole. To address such situations, the 102nd Congress enacted the

Community Environmental Response Facilitation Act (CERFA; P.L. 102-426) in 1992. This law

amended Section 120(h) by adding a new subsection (4) that authorizes the transfer of

uncontaminated parcels on a surplus federal property while cleanup continues on the

contaminated parcels.70 This parcel-by-parcel approach is intended to avoid potential delays in the

42 U.S.C. §9607.

42 U.S.C. §9620(h)(3).

42 U.S.C. §9620(h)(4).

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transfer of “clean” surplus federal lands for reuse, especially such lands on closed military

installations where economic redevelopment is desired to replace lost jobs. In the event that

previously unknown contamination is later discovered after transfer out of federal ownership,

Section 120(h)(4)(D) requires that a deed to an uncontaminated parcel still include a covenant

warranting that the United States shall conduct cleanup actions that may become necessary to

address contamination attributed to past federal activities.71

Early Transfer of Contaminated Parcels

The cleanup of a contaminated parcel may take several years or more, depending on the type and

level of contamination, technical feasibility of cleanup actions, and availability of appropriations

to pay for the cleanup. In such situations, the requirement to complete cleanup prior to transfer

out of federal ownership could result in delaying the transfer. Enacted in the 104th Congress,

Section 334 of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY1997 (P.L. 104-201) amended

Section 120(h)(3) of CERCLA to add a new subsection (C) that allows the transfer of a

contaminated parcel on a surplus federal property before cleanup is complete, if certain

conditions are satisfied.72 Although Congress enacted this amendment in annual defense

authorization legislation, this authority applies to any surplus federal property administered by

any federal agency, not just surplus U.S. military property.

Section 120(h)(3)(C) specifically authorizes a deferral of the cleanup covenant to allow the

transfer of title to a contaminated parcel on a surplus federal property before cleanup is complete.

Federal agencies often refer to this deferral of the covenant as an “early” transfer, although the

statute does not use this term. The deed to a contaminated property transferred out of federal

ownership must contain assurances that the cleanup still will be carried out after the property

leaves federal ownership. The federal agency responsible for the performance of the cleanup also

must identify the funding needed to carry out the cleanup in its annual budget requests.

The deed also must restrict the use of the property to purposes that would be protective of human

health and environment, while the cleanup proceeds. For example, at the time of transfer, a

property may be suitable for industrial use because the risks of exposure to contamination may be

within an acceptable range, whereas other land uses that would result in potentially harmful

exposure would be restricted until the property is cleaned up sufficiently for that purpose. Once

cleanup is complete, the United States remains obligated to provide a covenant at that time,

warranting that all necessary actions to protect human health and the environment have been

taken to make the property suitable for its intended, eventual use.

The early transfer of a contaminated surplus federal property that EPA has designated on the

National Priorities List (NPL) for cleanup purposes is subject to the concurrence of the

Administrator of EPA and the governor of the state in which the facility is located. The early

transfer of a contaminated surplus federal property that is not listed on the NPL still requires the

concurrence of the governor of the state in which the facility is located, but not EPA. Federal

agencies proposing an early transfer also must provide the public at least 30 days advance notice

and an opportunity to comment on the proposed transfer before it is executed.

42 U.S.C. §9620(h)(4)(D).

42 U.S.C. §9620(h)(3)(C).

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National Historic Preservation Act73

When federal property is sold, a review under the National Historic Preservation Act74 (NHPA)

may be required to determine whether the action will adversely affect historic properties and how

to mitigate those effects. Courts describe NHPA as a “stop, look, and listen” statute that directs an

agency to consider the effects of its action on historic sites, but does not require an agency to stop

a project that would harm that property.75 Instead, NHPA requires an agency to make an informed

determination following a decision making process that is known as a Section 106 review.76

Federal agencies conduct a Section 106 review when their actions, known as undertakings, may

affect a historic property. An undertaking is defined as “a project, activity, or program funded in

whole or in part under the direct or indirect jurisdiction of a Federal agency.”77 The Section 106

process begins before federal funding is provided or a federal license issued.78 Starting a Section

106 review early in the project development process ensures that agencies consider “a broad

range of alternatives” during the planning process.79

When a federal agency finds an action is an undertaking, its first step is to identify the parties

required to be involved in the decision making process, who are known as consulting parties.

NHPA regulations define who must be invited as a consulting party,80 including the State Historic

Preservation Officer (SHPO), the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO), local and tribal

officials, and, if the federal undertaking involves issuing a permit, the applicant. Other interested

parties may participate, such as historic associations and general members of the public, but do

not have the same standing in the decision making process as the consulting parties.81

Next, the agency identifies the area of potential effects (APE), defined as “the geographic area or

areas within which an undertaking may directly or indirectly cause alterations in the character or

use of historic properties.”82 At this stage, the action agency, with the consulting parties, identifies

historic properties that may be affected. Historic properties are defined as those listed or eligible

for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.83 If no historic properties are within the

APE, the Section106 process concludes.

This section was prepared by (name redacted), Legislative Attorney.

P.L. 89-665, 80 Stat. 915; 16 U.S.C. §§470 et seq.

See Safeguarding the Historic Hanscom Area’s Irreplaceable Resources, Inc. v. Federal Aviation Administration, 651

F.3d 202, 214 (1st Cir. 2011); Business and Residents Alliance of East Harlem v. Jackson, 430 F.3d 584, 591 (2d Cir.

2005); Muckleshoot Indian Tribe v. U.S. Forest Service, 177 F.3d 800, 805 (9th Cir. 1999); Illinois Commerce

Commission v. Interstate Commerce Commission, 848 F.2d 1246, 1261 (D.C. Cir. 1988).

It is named after the section within the public law enacting NHPA, P.L. 89-665, §106, but is codified at 16 U.S.C.

§470f.

16 U.S.C. §470w(7); 36 C.F.R. §800.16(y).

16 U.S.C. §470f.

36 C.F.R. §800.1(c).

36 C.F.R. §800.2(a)(4).

For example, the agency is not required to confer with interested parties, unlike consulting parties, on key issues such

as resolving any adverse effects, as discussed later in this section.

36 C.F.R. §800.16(d).

36 C.F.R. §800.4.

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When historic properties are found within the APE, the agency will coordinate with the

consulting parties to determine whether the undertaking will adversely affect the property. If no

adverse effects are found, the Section 106 process ends. The undertaking does not have to touch a

historic property physically for an agency to find an adverse effect, as the NHPA regulations state

that the agency must consider both direct and indirect effects of the project,84 as well as

reasonably foreseeable effects that may occur later in time or at some distance, or are

cumulative.85 Accordingly, NHPA would apply not only to selling federally owned historic

buildings but may also apply when the sale of a non-historic building would adversely affect

historic properties. For example, if the sale of a non-historic federal building could change the

character of a historic area, that might be considered an adverse effect and would require further

analysis.

If adverse effects on historic properties are found, NHPA does not require the agency to reject the

undertaking. Instead, the agency is required to compile adequate documentation of its adverse

effects findings, make the documentation available to the public, and provide an opportunity for

comment.86 An additional consulting party may be invited at this stage—the Advisory Council on

Historic Places (ACHP or the Council).87 The agency, with the cooperation of the consulting

parties, shall “develop and evaluate alternatives or modifications to the undertaking that could

avoid, minimize, or mitigate adverse effects on historic properties.”88 When the parties agree on

avoidance and/or mitigation of the adverse effects, the agency and the SHPO/THPO will enter

into a binding agreement known as a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA),89 and consulting

parties are invited to concur.90 Completion of a MOA concludes the Section 106 process.

If the parties cannot reach an agreement on the adverse effects, the agency, the SHPO/THPO, or

the Council may terminate the Section 106 process.91 The terminating party must notify the others

in writing of the basis for ending consultation, and the ACHP will provide the opportunity for the

parties (including itself) and the public to comment. However, termination of the Section 106

process does not mean that the project must also be terminated. If the agency decides to continue

the undertaking, the agency must document its rationale and demonstrate that it considered the

comments of the Council.92 The agency must give a copy of this document to the consulting

parties and make it available to the public.93 Then, the agency may advance its project despite any

harm to historic properties, taking any mitigation measures it chooses.

36 C.F.R. §800.16(d).

36 C.F.R. §800.5(a)(1).

36 C.F.R. §800.6(a)(4).

The ACHP is an independent federal agency. It is required to be invited to participate in developing an MOA under

three circumstances: if a National Historic Landmark will be adversely affected (36 C.F.R. §800.6(a)(1)); if a

programmatic agreement affecting multiple agency undertakings is being prepared (36 C.F.R. §800.6(a)(1)); or if the

parties fail to come to terms on a MOA (36 C.F.R. §800.6(b)(1)(v)).

36 C.F.R. §800.6(a).

36 C.F.R. §800.6(c)(1).

36 C.F.R. §800.6(c)(3).

36 C.F.R. §800.7.

36 C.F.R. §800.7(c)(4).

Congressional Research Service

Overview of Federal Real Property Disposal Requirements and Procedures

Author Contact Information

(name redacted), Coordinator

Specialist in American National Government

/redacted/@crs.loc.gov, 7-....

(name redacted)

Specialist in Environmental Policy

/redacted/@crs.loc.gov, 7-....

(name redacted)

Specialist in National Defense

/redacted/@crs.loc.gov, 7-....

(name redacted)

Legislative Attorney

/redacted/@crs.loc.gov, 7-....

(name redacted)

Analyst in Environmental Policy

/redacted/@crs.loc.gov, 7-....

Congressional Research Service

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