2 C.F.R. § 1402.329 – What are the requirements for land acquired under an award?

(a) Approval prior to land purchases. Bureaus and offices must ensure compliance with the prior written approval requirements for land acquisition in 2 CFR 200.439. Whenever a recipient is seeking DOI's approval to use award funds to purchase an interest in real property, the OMB-approved governmentwide data elements for collection of real property reporting information, as of October 29, 2019, SF-429-B, Request to Acquire, Improve, or Furnish, or approved alternate standardized data collection, must be submitted to the bureau or office. The Financial Assistance Officer is responsible for ensuring that this requirement is met. All aspects of the purchase must be in compliance with applicable laws and regulations relating to purchases of land or interests in land.
(b) Appraisal requirements for land purchases.
1. (1) Unless a waiver valuation applies in accordance with 49 CFR 24.102(c), land or interests in land that will be acquired under the award must be appraised in accordance with the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions, (UASFLA or the “Yellow Book”), developed and promulgated by the Interagency Land Acquisition Conference, 1155 15th Street NW, Suite 1111, Washington, DC 20005, by a real property appraiser licensed or certified by the State or States in which the property is located. The appraisal report shall be reviewed by a qualified review appraiser that meets qualifications established by the DOI Appraisal and Valuation Services Office (AVSO), which is responsible for appraisal and valuation services and policy across the Department. Bureaus and offices shall ensure that funds are not disbursed for purchases of land or interests in land without an appraisal accompanied by a written appraisal review report that complies with standards approved by AVSO. Where appraisals are required to support federally assisted land acquisitions, AVSO has oversight responsibilities for these appraisals, including those purchased through financial assistance actions in the various grant programs within the Department. AVSO will coordinate with grant programs to conduct periodic internal control review of appraisal and appraisal review reports prepared in conjunction with grant applications for land acquisition.
2. (2) The Director of the Federal Register approves the material referenced in this section for incorporation by reference into this section in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. You may inspect a copy at the Appraisal and Valuation Services Office within the Department of the Interior located at 1849 C St. NW, Washington, DC 20240, (202) 208-3466, or at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA, email fedreg.legal@nara.gov or go to www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations.html.
  1. (i) Interagency Land Acquisition Conference, 1155 15th Street NW, Suite 1111, Washington, DC 20005.
    1. (A) Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions, Sixth Edition, 2016.
    2. (B) You may obtain a print copy or interactive electronic version from The Appraisal Foundation at https://www.appraisalfoundation.org/iMIS/itemDetail?iProductCode=351&Category=PUB or a read-only version from the U.S. Department of Justice at https://www.justice.gov/file/408306/download.
  2. (ii) [Reserved]
(c) Foreign land acquisition. Land to be acquired under an award that is located outside the United States must be appraised by an independent real property appraiser licensed or certified in the country in which the property is located in accordance with any in-country appraisal standards, if they exist, or with International Valuation Standards, when such appraisals are available and financially feasible. Otherwise, the non-Federal entity must use the most widely accepted business practice for property valuation in the country where the property is located and provide to the awarding DOI bureau or office a detailed explanation of the methodology used to determine value.
(d) Requirements for recipient reporting on real property purchases.
1. (1) For all financial assistance actions where real property is acquired under the Federal award, the recipient must submit reports on the status of the real property. Bureaus and offices must ensure recipients receive written notification of those reporting requirements, including reporting frequency/schedule, report content requirements, and submission instructions, at the time of award.
2. (2) If the interest in the land will be held for less than 15 years, reports must be submitted annually. If the interest in the land will be held for 15 years or more, then the recipient must submit the first report within one year of the period of performance end date of the award and then, at a minimum, every five years thereafter.
3. (3) The reports must be submitted to the Financial Assistance Officer within the period of performance of the award. After the end of the period of performance, reports must be submitted to a designated individual. Each bureau must have a process in place to designate specific individuals to receive, and review and accept the report.
4. (4) Recipients must use the OMB-approved governmentwide data elements for collection of real property reporting information, as of October 29, 2019, the Real Property Status Report Standard Form (SF) 429-A, General Reporting, to report status of land or interests in land under Federal financial assistance awards. Bureaus or offices may request to use an equivalent reporting format. The Director, Office of Grants Management must approve alternate equivalent formats.
5. (5) Reports must include, at a minimum, sufficient information to demonstrate that all conditions imposed on the land use are being met, and a signed certification to that fact by the recipient of the financial assistance award.
6. (6) The Financial Assistance Officer must indicate the reporting schedule, including due dates, in the award document. The schedule must conform with the frequency required in paragraph (d)(2) of this section. For awards issued prior to October 29, 2019, the recipient must contact the program to establish due dates for reports going forward. If there is already a reporting schedule in place, then the recipient and the program shall ensure that the schedule is updated to conform with this part prior to the due date of the next scheduled report.