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Department of the Interior Department of the Interior

Departmental Manual

Effective Date: 7/24/92

Series: Departmental Directives System

Part 012: Secretary=s Orders

Chapter 1: Preparation and Issuance of Secretary=s Orders

Originating Office: Office of Planning and Performance Management

012 DM 1

1.1 Content. Secretary=s Orders are limited to temporary delegations of authority, emergency directives, special assignments of functions, and initial policy and functional statements on the establishment of new units. All such orders must be converted as soon as practicable to appropriate parts of the Departmental Manual, or revoked. Material appropriate for immediate inclusion in the Departmental Manual or the Code of Federal Regulations will not be issued in the numbered system of Secretary=s Orders.

1.2 Preparation. A proposed Secretary=s Order will be prepared by the bureau or office having primary interest in the subject. Technical assistance in the preparation of orders is available from the Division of Directives and Regulatory Management, Office of Management Improvement (PMI), which also monitors the coordination of orders for the Assistant Secretary - Policy, Management and Budget.

1.3 Review and Clearance.

A. A briefing memorandum, which explains the reason for the order and recommends Secretarial signature, will accompany all proposed Secretary=s Orders.

B. All proposed Secretary=s Orders will be routed by the initiating bureau or office through the supervising Assistant Secretary to the Division of Directives and Regulatory Management, PMI.

C. The Division of Directives and Regulatory Management, PMI, is responsible for determining the appropriate issuance media, and for obtaining clearances and coordinating review by all other interested bureaus and offices.

D. The proposed order will be coordinated with the Associate Solicitor, Division of General Law. Material containing a description of land, drafted by other than the Bureau of Land Management, will be referred to that Bureau for review of the accuracy and sufficiency of the description.

E. Surnames of reviewing officials will be placed on a Clearance Record (DI-228) or photo copy marked ADirectives, PMI.@

1.4 Signature. Secretary=s Orders are signed only by the Secretary, the Deputy Secretary, or an Acting Secretary.

1.5 Publication, Duplication, and Distribution.

A. The Division of Directives and Regulatory Management, PMI, is responsible for assigning numbers to approved orders, and preparing them for duplication. It also maintains records, makes periodic reviews, and prepares lists of current orders.

B. The Division of Printing and Publications, Office of Administrative Services, is responsible for the internal duplication and distribution of orders.

1.6 Numbering. Following signature by the issuing official as prescribed in 012 DM 1.4, the Division of Directives and Regulatory Management, PMI, will assign an order number. If the original number of an order being amended is retained, such number will be inserted at the time of preparation. In such instances, the amendment number will be added after signature.

1.7 Amended Orders. Minor amendments to an existing order such as an extension of the expiration date will contain only those sections of the order being amended. If the amendments are extensive, the order will be drafted as a complete restatement of the text as amended. The amended order will then be assigned a new number in the chronological sequence of issuance, and will include provisions of revocation of the superseded order.

1.8 Effective/Expiration Dates. The final section of each Secretary=s Order will contain a statement addressing the effective and expiration dates of the provisions of the order. As appropriate, any amendments to a Secretary=s Order will contain a similar statement. The information to be included in the effective/expiration date statement is prescribed in Section 7 of Illustration 1 to this chapter.

1.9 Format and Assembly. The format and assembly of a proposed Secretary=s Order is determined by whether or not it is to be published in the Federal Register. See Illustration 1 for the format of a Secretary=s Order. The following copies will be made and assembled in the order indicated:

A. Orders Not Published in the Federal Register.

(1) Original, typed single spaced, with signature tab appropriately placed.

(2) Copy for Division of Directives and Regulatory Management, PMI, (surname copy).

(3) Two copies for Secretary=s Reading File.

(4) Copy for originating bureau or office file.

B. Orders to be Published in the Federal Register.

(1) Original, typed double spaced and annotated as shown in Illustration 1, with signature tab appropriately place (to sent to the Office of the Federal Register with two certified copies).

(2) Copy for internal Departmental use with signature tab appropriately placed. This copy is also to be signed by the issuing official. (Note: Since this copy is used for printing and distribution within the Department, and maintained as a permanent record, the copy must be a high quality reproduction or a duplicate original.)

(3) Copy for Division of Directives and Regulatory Management, PMI, (surname copy).

(4) Two copies for Secretary=s Reading File.

(5) Copy for Office of Public Affairs.

(6) Copy for originating bureau or office file.

(7) Two copies for transmittal with the original to the Office of the Federal Register. The Certifying Officer for the Office of the Secretary (Department Consolidated Mail Room) will certify these copies after signature

1.10 Implementation of the Metric System. Pursuant to the Metric Conversion Act of 1975, as amended by Public Law 100-418, Section 5164, the metric system was declared to be preferred measurement system for the U.S. trade and commerce. All Federal agencies are required to implement the metric system in procurement, grants, and other business-related activities by the end of F.Y. 1992.

Accordingly, all new and revised Secretary=s Orders shall be reviewed to identify any measurement sensitive material. Any measurement sensitive material should be modified to reflect either exclusive metric units or dual dimensions (metric/inch-pound). Further guidance is contained in DM Part 758.

1.11 Organization Nomenclature. The term Abureaus and offices@ when used in Secretary=s Orders refers collectively to the bureaus of the Department, the Secretarial Offices and the Secretariat, unless specifically excepted.

1.12 Conversion to Departmental Manual Format and Revocation. The Assistant Secretary - Policy, Management and Budget, or his/her deputy may sign a Departmental Manual release converting, without change, the substantive content and text of a previously issued and current Secretary=s Order to Departmental Manual format. Manual releases revoking or making substantive changes in material contained in existing orders will be signed by the Secretary, the Deputy Secretary, or an Acting Secretary.

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012 DM 1

Illustration 1

SAMPLE FORMAT OF A SECRETARY=S ORDER

[Type on Office of the Secretary Letterhead]

ORDER NO.

Subject: Preparation of Secretary=s Orders

Sec. 1 Purpose. This order illustrates the proper format for a Secretary=s order which is not to be published in the Federal Register. For orders that are to be published in the Federal Register, the format is the same but the text of the order is double spaced. The legal authority for the action being taken must always be cited in the order, and it may be included in the Apurpose@ section.

Sec. 2 Subject. Every order will include a subject title, which should be brief but generally descriptive of the text. In an amendatory order the original subject should be used unless it has been or is being amended.

Sec. 3 Section. If the text of a new order requires more than a single paragraph, it is divided into sections. Each section is designated by an Arabic numeral, carries a section heading, and begins at the left-hand margin. The section heading should be brief but sufficiently informative to facilitate reference.

Sec. 4 Paragraphs. If the text of a section must be divided, the division, referred to as a paragraph, is designated by a lower case letter followed by a period.

a. The designation of a paragraph is aligned under the first letter of the section title, and the second and subsequent lines are typed flush with the left-hand margin.

b. This is an example of the format of a second paragraph in an order.

(1) If the text of a paragraph must be divided, the division, referred to as a subparagraph, is designated by an Arabic numeral within parentheses.

(a) If division of the text of a subparagraph is unavoidable, the division, referred to as a sub-subparagraph, is designated by a lower case letter within parentheses.

Sec. 5 Numbering of Secretary=s Orders. The order number of a new order, and the amendment number of an existing order, is placed on the document by the Office of Management Improvement after it has been signed by the issuing official.

Sec. 6 Amendments to Orders. An order which amends an existing order and which is to be issued as a numbered amendment to the existing order should state the exact nature of the action being taken. (For example, AParagraph a of section 1 of Order 2829 is amended to read as follows:@ or AOrder 3823, as amended (22 FR 6366; 25 FR 5309), is further amended to add two new sections, numbered 5 and 6, reading as follows:.@) If more than one action is being taken by the amendment, each statement is numbered and the number followed by a period (A1.@). The new or amended material is set forth in the same manner as provided in sections 2 - 5 of this illustrated order.

Sec. 7 Expiration Date. This Order (will be/is) effective (immediately/date). Its provisions will remain in effect until (describe event), or until it is amended, superseded, or revoked, whichever occurs first. However, in the absence of the foregoing actions, the provisions of this Order will terminate and be considered obsolete on (date).