1.  Purpose. The purpose of this Instructional Memorandum (IM) is to implement revisions to procedures for processing certain USGS financial transactions with other federal agencies.

2.  Background.  The changes in this IM were brought about by the following:

A. Department of the Interior Acquisition Policy Release (DIAPR) 2001-3 dated July 16, 2001, subject: Departmentwide Legal Review Standards for Acquisition and Acquisition-Related Actions, revised thresholds for legal review of interagency agreements.

B. The sample interagency agreement form (SM 405.7, Figure 2) was formalized as USGS Form 9-3102 and made mandatory for transfers of USGS appropriations to other federal agencies (funds outgoing) to improve financial management at USGS and ensure Departmental and statutory rules are observed for these transactions.

3.  Procedures.

A. Legal Review. In accordance with DIAPR 2001-3, interagency agreements will be submitted to the Assistant Solicitor for Procurements and Patents for review for legal sufficiency, regardless of the statutory authority for the agreement, if over the following thresholds:

(1) Agreements executed by warranted contracting officers: $500,000.

(2) Agreements executed by program offices: $100,000.

B. Interagency Agreement Content. Paragraph 7 of SM 405.7 is hereby rescinded and replaced with the following:

Format. USGS interagency agreements (funds outgoing) will be prepared using either a formal purchase order (Optional Form 334 or USGS Form 9-1134) or USGS Form 9-3102, following the instructions provided in Figure 1. No other forms or formats are acceptable. The USGS Form 9-3102, with Figure 1 instructions embedded in MS Word comments, can be accessed from the USGS intranet at:

http://internal.usgs.gov/ops/acquisition/Forms/iaform.doc

C. Signature authority. Refer to Survey Manual Chapter 205.4, Appendix A, Section E-1, to determine who can sign an interagency agreement.

D. Distribution and Retention. Paragraph 8C of SM 405.7 requires copies of all interagency agreements (funds outgoing) to be provided to the Office of Acquisition and Grants. Agreements issued by contracting officers in the headquarters and regional Acquisition and Grants branches are excluded from this requirement.

4.  Cancellation. The interim update provided by this IM will remain in effect until a revision to SM 405.7 incorporating this information is issued.

Attachment

/s/ Scott G. Morton
Chief, Office of Acquisition and Grants

Figure 1

Instructions for Completing USGS Form 9-3102

Do not leave any of the fill-ins blank. None of the preprinted items, terms or conditions may be altered or removed.

Agreement Number (DCN).

1. A unique, 11-character Document Control Number (DCN) will be assigned to each Form 9-3102 interagency agreement by the initiating office, and cited as the agreement number in all correspondence dealing with the agreement. The DCN will be entered in the spaces provided on the form and used as the obligation number in the Federal Financial System (FFS). The DCN must be 11 characters long and follow the following example:

Agreement Number (DCN): 2IA 6120 1234 (spaces optional)

(a) Where the first position is the last digit of the fiscal year the agreement was issued;

(b) The characters "IA" will be used for the second and third position without exception (all previous letter codes including "LA" are no longer acceptable);

(c) The code for the cost center responsible for the agreement/billings will occupy the fourth to seventh positions; and

(d) The last four positions will be a unique number assigned by the initiating office.

2. For agreements issued by a USGS contracting office, the DCN is the 10-digit Procurement Instrument Identification Number (PIIN) (award number) assigned by the Interior Department Electronic Acquisition System (IDEAS), using award type code PG.

Statutory Authority: The statute authorizing the interagency agreement must be cited. When the purpose of the agreement is to reimburse servicing agency employee salaries to prosecute a cooperative project and the servicing agency will not acquire products or services from a third party,43 USC 36c may be cited as the statute authorizing the agreement. If 43 USC 36c does not apply and more specific statutory authority cannot be found,the Economy Act (31 USC 1535) can be used. Economy Act agreements require a Determination and Findings document (see Survey Manual Chapter 405.7.6).

Fiscal Year Funding: Insert the fiscal year of the appropriation from which funds will be drawn. The products/services ordered under the agreement must be a bona fide need of that fiscal year. Servicing agency salaries must be paid from appropriations current at the time salary costs are incurred (see Principles of Federal Appropriations Law, Volume IV, page 15-44).

Estimated Cost: Supporting documentation for the estimate may be required, consult local directives. May require legal review; see thresholds set forth in paragraph 3A of this Instructional Memorandum.

Period of Performance: Insert the date work on the project is to begin, and expected completion or expiration date (cannot exceed the period funds are available for obligation.) Expiration/completion dates may be subsequently extended by amendment to the agreement.

USGS Account No.: Insert the 10-digit code for the USGS account from which payment will be drawn. If insufficient space, refer to an attachment in this block where the list of account numbers can be found.

Requesting Agency: Do not change or delete the preprinted Agency Location Code (ALC).

Servicing Agency: Verify accuracy of this information with the servicing agency.

Description of Service: Include breakdown of projected/estimated costs, work statement and/or milestone plan; refer to attachment if insufficient space.

Terms and Conditions, D. If "Economy Act" is checked, insert the date the funds are no longer available for obligation.

Performance schedule/Deliverable items: May include a provision requiring the servicing agency to promptly advise USGS concerning changes in delivery schedules.

Billing/Payment Provisions: Do not change any of the preprinted information. Address frequency of billing or payment (monthly, upon receipt of X items, etc.); and whether payment will be made in advance or in arrears. May provide for reimbursement either on the basis of cost of performance, or on a fixed-price basis if significant variations in cost or work specifications are unlikely.

Resolution of Disagreements: Optional unless Economy Act applies; see Federal Acquisition Regulation 17.504(c). Insert instructions/terms for termination of part or all of the project (e.g., advance notice to the parties), addressing costs of termination as well.

Government Property to be Furnished/Acquired: If insufficient space, insert "see Attachment X " in the space provided. If acquisition of new items of property of $5,000 or more is authorized, itemize below and indicated whether to be retained by the servicing agency or returned to USGS upon expiration/completion of this agreement. If any items of controlled property will be loaned or transferred to the servicing agency, identify below. Indicate which agency will be responsible for maintaining property records during performance of the agreement/project.

Approvals: To determine who is authorized to sign the agreement, see SM 205.4, Appendix A, Section E-1. Program offices must furnish a copy of agreements they execute to the Procurement Policy Branch in Reston,Mail Stop 205P. Failure to comply may result in suspension of their delegation of authority.