WASHINGTON -- The federal government should embark on a coordinated, funded, and sustained effort to dispose of approximately 45,000 excess and underutilized facilities, says a new report from the National Research Council. Approximately $1.6 billion is spent annually to operate and maintain federal facilities that are no longer needed to support federal agencies' missions.
The government should also redevelop its approaches for the maintenance and repair of facilities. Despite the magnitude of annual funds allocated to operating costs -- estimated at $47 billion -- investments in maintenance and repair have been inadequate for many years, resulting in tens of billions of dollars in deferred projects. The report recommends several strategies for more effective investment in order to reduce risks, long-term operating costs, energy and water use, and other environmental impacts.
The federal government owns and leases about 429,000 buildings and an additional 482,000 structures such as bridges, utility systems, and other infrastructure. More than half are at least 50 years old. The report cautions that continued underinvestment will lead to greater deterioration in building systems and components and increased risk to the government. Possible adverse events include system failures that will disrupt agencies' operations; higher operating and life-cycle costs; wasted water, energy, and other resources; and hazards that lead to injuries and illnesses or loss of life and property.
As federal agencies manage the largest portfolio of facilities in the U.S., they have a responsibility to lead by example in operating and maintaining their buildings and structures more sustainably, the report stresses. To do this, these agencies should proactively reduce their total physical space requirements through telework and other work strategies. They should also establish risk-based processes for prioritizing annual and longer-term investments in maintenance and repair activities. By doing so, federal agencies can link their maintenance and repair activities to their missions and provide for greater transparency and credibility in budget development, decision making, and budget execution.
The study was supported by a series of contracts between the National Academy of Sciences and the sponsor agencies of the Federal Facilities Council. The National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council make up the National Academies. They are private, nonprofit institutions that provide science, technology, and health policy advice under a congressional charter. The Research Council is the principal operating agency of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. For more information, visit http://national-academies.org. A committee roster follows.
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Pre-publication copies of Predicting Outcomes of Investments in Maintenance and Repair of Federal Facilities are available from the National Academies Press; tel. 202-334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242 or on the Internet at http://www.nap.edu. Reporters may obtain a copy from the Office of News and Public Information (contacts listed above).
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences
Board on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment
Committee on Predicting Outcomes of Investments in Maintenance and Repair of Federal Facilities
David A. Skiven (chair)
Co-Director
Engineering Society of Detroit Institute
Brighton, Mich.
Get W. Moy (vice chair)
Vice President
AECOM
Arlington, Va.
Michael A. Aimone
Vice President for Strategy Development
National Security Global Business
Battelle Memorial Institute
Fairfax, Va.
Burcu Akinci
Associate Professor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh
Alfredo H-S. Ang*
Research Professor of Civil Engineering
Department of Civil Engineering
University of California
Irvine
Joseph Bibeau
President
Eagle Enterprises of Tennessee LLC
Lebanon
Ivan Damnjanovic
Assistant Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
Texas A&M University
College Station
Lucia E. Garsys
Deputy County Administrator for Development and Infrastructure
Hillsborough County
Tampa, Fla.
Daniel Geldermann
Principal
Calibre Systems
Alexandria, Va.
Michael R. Greenberg
Professor
Department of Urban Studies and Community Health
School of Planning and Public Policy
Rutgers University
New Brunswick, N.J.
William G. Stamper
CEO
CBC Solutions Inc.
Burke, Va.
Eric Teicholz
President
Graphic Systems Inc.
Cambridge, Mass.
Donald R. Uzarski
Adjunct Professor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign
RESEARCH COUNCIL STAFF
Lynda Stanley
Study Director
* Member, National Academy of Engineering