Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC): Transfer and Disposal of Military Property

The Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 P.L. 100-526 and the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 P.L. 81-152 provide the basic framework for the transfer and disposal of military installations closed during the base realignment and closure BRAC process. In general, property at BRAC installations is first subjected to screening for use by the Department of Defense and by other federal agencies. If no federal use for the property can be found or if an application for transfer is rejected, the property is deemed surplus to the needs of the federal government and made available for disposal through other mechanisms. At this point, BRAC property is subjected to two simultaneous evaluation processes the redevelopment planning process performed by a local redevelopment authority composed of various interested representatives of the community affected by the BRAC action and a Department of Defense analysis prepared under the aegis of the National Environmental Policy Act and, eventually, informed by the local redevelopment plan. As a part of this process, screening of the property must be performed to determine if a homeless assistance use would be appropriate. There are also a variety of public benefit transfers, under which the property may be conveyed for various specified public purposes at reduced cost. It is also possible to dispose of BRAC property through the use of a public auction or negotiated sale, for which fair market value or a proxy for fair market value must generally be obtained. Finally the law governing the BRAC process authorizes economic development conveyances, through which a local redevelopment authority may obtain the property for specified purposes, sometimes for no consideration.