Best Practices

Best Practices are documents designed to provide resources and guidance for common and tricky issues surrounding high risk property. The best practices provided here encompass modifiable form templates for your specific use, flowcharts to provide a process overview, and reference documents to provide a more detailed understanding of a topic. When used together, these Best Practices can help provide a repeatable, auditable, and defendable process.

A document used in property transfers to certify that the receiving party is the final recipient and will not use the materials or information for any activities related to weapons of mass destruction programs.

Per 41 CFR 109, unless an alternative disposition option appears to be in the best interest of the Government, surplus Trigger List components, equipment, and materials and nuclear weapon components shall either be sold for scrap after being rendered useless for their originally intended purpose or destroyed, with the destruction verified and documented. Requests for approval of an alternative disposition may be made through the cognizant Assistant Secretary to the Director of the Office of Nonproliferation and National Security.

Effective management of high risk personal property necessitates a balance between two concepts – security and efficiency. 41 CFR 109-1.5303 states that “All personal property shall be reviewed for high risk identification […].” To satisfy this requirement, we recommend incorporating an Exception List into property management procedures. An Exception List captures low risk items (i.e., furniture, office supplies, etc.), which constitute the bulk of DOE/NNSA personal property. Low risk items are considered EAR99 under the Department of Commerce regulations.

An Exception List does not negate the requirement for an initial high risk review; rather, it removes the need for subsequent reviews. To add an item to an Exception List:

  • An initial high risk review must be performed and documented
  • All models/versions of the item must be considered EAR99

Use of an Exception List is subject to Organizational Property Management Officer (OPMO) approval.

Per 41 CFR 109 and DOE G 580.1-1A, an Export Restriction Notice, or approved equivalent notice, shall be included in all transfers, sales, or other offerings of DOE personal property. An updated version of the Export Restriction Notice has been provided by NNSA general counsel to reflect current regulations.

Documents useful for the introduction of high risk property concepts

The below templates are designed to help property professionals perform and document the review process for High Risk Property determinations.

We recommend the following language as an introductory paragraph for your GSA disclaimer, when the item you are advertising does not qualify as HRP.

This item has been reviewed for high risk property concerns and is controlled by the U.S. Department of Commerce as EAR99.

When an item does qualify as HRP, we recommend the following as an introductory paragraph to your GSA disclaimer.

This item has been reviewed for high risk property concerns and is controlled by the U.S. Department of (fill in the appropriate government agency) as (fill in the appropriate ECCN, USML, or Trigger List citation).

We also recommend adding a statement regarding Restricted Party Screening.

Please be aware that any winning bidders must not be listed on the U.S. Consolidated Screening List, a list of parties for which the U.S. Government maintains restrictions on business transactions, including certain exports, reexports, or transfers of items.