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U.S. Department of Energy                                
                                                                                     Washington, D.C.                                       POLICY
                          DOE P 580.1
                                
                                
                                
                                                    Approved:  05-20-02
                                
SUBJECT:  MANAGEMENT POLICY FOR PLANNING, PROGRAMMING, BUDGETING,
      OPERATION, MAINTENANCE AND DISPOSAL OF REAL PROPERTY
                                
                            PURPOSE:
                                
To establish Department of Energy (DOE) management policy for the planning, programming,
budgeting, operation, maintenance and disposal of real property owned by the United States and
under the custody and control of DOE.  Additionally, DOE policy and management must support
innovative and performance based facilities and infrastructure management practices, and be
consistent with the following Federal regulations, Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
      circular and Federal financial reporting standard: 
                                
     OMB Circular A-11, Part 3, Planning, Budgeting, and Acquisition of Capital Assets, and
      the supplement to Part 3, Capital Programming Guide;
                                
     Code of Federal Regulations Title 41, Chapter 101, Public Contracts and Property
                          Management; 
                                
     Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) "Accounting for Property, Plant
and Equipment"   Statement of Recommended Accounting Standards - Number 6; 
                                
Real property is defined as land, buildings (and related personal property), other structures and
facilities, and trailers that are used by the Federal Government in accomplishment of mission. 
OMB Circular A-11 outlines sound business management principals and the minimum
requirements to plan, program, budget, acquire, and manage capital assets (in this case real
property.)  The mandated requirements and procedures for real property acquisition, inventory,
management, excess identification, leasing, disposal, and reporting activities, are codified in
various sections of   Title 41, Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter 101.  The FASAB Statement
of Recommended Accounting Standards Number 6 defines Federal agencies financial reporting
requirements for all property, plant and equipment (of which real property is a component) in the
           Department's Annual Financial Statement. 
                                
                                
                                                             POLICY
                                
Ensuring the proper stewardship of real property assets is DOE's principal policy goal. 
Stewardship in this instance means active, value-based, and informed management processes that
ensure the existence of adequate real property assets fully capable of meeting mission, safety,
and performance requirements.  Federal managers are responsible for this stewardship through
proper planning, programming, budgeting, operation, maintenance, and disposal practices. 
Further, DOE Federal managers are responsible for ensuring that real property assets under their
purview are managed with integrity and in compliance with applicable laws.
                                
The major DOE objective is to establish a holistic planning, programming, budgeting and
execution (PPB&E) process that links real property assets, and the resources dedicated to them,
          to mission requirements and performance.   
                                
To accomplish the objective, the Department will establish standards, processes, and reporting
                     mechanisms that will:
                                
     Ensure validated data is available in the Facility Information Management System
(FIMS), DOE's corporate real property data base, to support informed decision making
                 throughout the PPB&E process;
                                
     Establish demonstrable, consistent, and measurable facility planning processes that
prioritize capital, maintenance, and other facility requirements based upon mission need,
            age and condition of the physical plant;
                                
          Optimize capacity and use of existing facilities;
                                
            Manage the disposition of excess facilities;
                                
     Identify realistic and supportable budgets to provide resources (dollars and personnel)
necessary to sustain the physical plant and support recapitalization efforts; 
                                
     Ensure the budget formulation policy and the accounting handbook are consistent with
      good maintenance management business practices; and 
                                
     Support management decisions by assessment of facilities planning and performance
management effectiveness as measured through FIMS and other relevant information. 
                                
The Office of Engineering and Construction Management (OECM), within the Office of the
Director, Office of Management, Budget and Evaluation/Chief Financial Officer, will lead
implementation of this Policy and will develop and maintain a real property asset program and
appropriate directives, procedures, and guidance documents for the Department. OECM will
coordinate this effort with Headquarters and field offices.  Through such documents and
assessment of performance, OECM will support the Deputy Secretary/Chief Operating Officer
and line management with independent analysis, evaluation, and technical assistance in matters
pertaining to the DOE real property and facilities management program. The DOE program
offices have line responsibility, and DOE functional offices such as budget, chief information
officer, legal, safety, and contracting have staff responsibility for assisting line management with
     implementation of this policy, and related directives.
                                
                                
                                  
                         SPENCER ABRAHAM
                       Secretary of Energy