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011 FW 3 |
Supersedes 011 FW 3, 07/07/08 Date: February 22, 2010 Series: Service Directives Part 011: The Fish and Wildlife Service Manual Originating Office: Division of Policy and Directives Management |
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3.1 What is the purpose of this chapter? This chapter describes how to:
A. Prepare new or revised Fish and Wildlife Service Manual (Service Manual) chapters for review and surname,
B. Seek Directorate comment on draft chapters and summarize comments, and
C. Make minor revisions to a chapter by issuing an amendment.
3.2 What are the authorities for this chapter?
A. Federal Information Resources Management Regulations (41 CFR 201-45.105).
B. 381 DM 1, Directives Management.
3.3 Who is responsible for reviewing and publishing Service Manual chapters?
3.4 How does the division/office prepare a draft? The division or office that is responsible for the subject matter must:
A. Consult with other affected divisions or offices and PDM before writing the chapter or revising an existing chapter,
B. Use the template and guidelines provided in 011 FW 2 to write or revise the chapter, and
C. Contact PDM after you have written a draft. PDM:
(1) Reviews and edits your draft chapter before others review it. This review ensures it follows the standards described in 011 FW 2.
(2) Sends edits and comments back to you. Incorporating these will strengthen your document.
(3) Does not change policy.
3.5 How does the division/office seek review and concurrence on draft chapters?
A. New Chapters and Revisions that have Servicewide Impact:
(1) After the division/office receives PDM’s edits and comments on the draft, it prepares a memorandum from the Director to the Directorate asking for its review of the chapter.
(2) The memorandum should include (see Exhibit 1 for templates):
(a) A deadline by which the Directorate must provide comments (allow at least 30 days),
(b) A brief summary of the policy or a description of how you revised the chapter, and
(c) Contact information.
(3) Following current division/office procedures and the Correspondence Handbook, the division/office prepares a surname package that includes the memorandum and the draft chapter.
(4) Incorporate Directorate comment, as appropriate. Make notes about how you incorporate comments and give rationale when you do not incorporate a comment. You may use a table to summarize the comments you receive and how you incorporated them (see Exhibit 2 for a sample).
(5) Prepare a final surname package (see sections 3.5B and 3.6 below) for the Director’s review.
B. Final Chapters after Directorate Comment Incorporated (or when Directorate comment is not necessary): The division/office must:
(1) Identify who should review the chapter and create a record in our Data Tracking System (DTS) that routes the chapter through the surname chain. (See section 3.7 or contact PDM for more information to help you decide who should review the chapter.)
(2) The last three reviewing officials in the DTS routing always are:
(a) Chief, PDM. PDM reviews the chapter again and prepares a hard copy package (see section 3.6B).
(b) Assistant Director – Budget, Planning and Human Capital (ABHC). The ABHC is the final reviewer before the chapter goes to the Director’s office.
(c) CCU. If CCU determines that the surname process is complete, it routes the package to the Director. The Director has final signature authority.
(3) Upload the elements of the final surname package into the new DTS record (see section 3.6 for more information).
(4) Use DTS to notify the first reviewing official in the routing that the chapter is available for their surname. When the first reviewing official has read the package and approves its content, the official will electronically surname and route it to the next person on the list for review. If there are questions or the official would like you to revise something, he/she will contact you.
3.6 What are the elements of a final surname package? The final surname package is composed of the various files that reviewers need to concur on the policy. It may be totally electronic (a DTS record) until it reaches PDM.
A. Put the following documents in a DTS record:
(1) A “Note to Reviewers.” This note explains why you wrote the chapter or points out any other information you would like reviewers to know. (See Exhibit 3 for an example.)
(2) A summary table of the comments you received or other notations about how you addressed comments (see Exhibit 2).
(3) A copy of the chapter and any exhibits.
B. When the chapter is assigned to PDM, PDM reviews the chapter and:
(1) Puts headers, footers, and a signature line at the end of the chapter;
(2) Prints a surname report from DTS that shows which offices surnamed the chapter; and
(3) Prepares the hard copy surname package and sends it through the ABHC to the Director.
3.7 Are there specific requirements for who should review the final draft chapter? Yes.
A. For some chapters, you must ask for public comment by publishing a notice of availability of the draft in the Federal Register. PDM can assist you. If the chapter meets one of the following four criteria, you must seek public comment:
(1) Has clear and substantial impact on important public policies or private sector decisions,
(2) Raises highly controversial issues related to interagency concerns or important Administration priorities,
(3) Establishes initial interpretations of statutory or regulatory requirements, or
(4) Is about innovative or complex scientific or technical issues.
B. For some chapters (e.g., those with legal issues), you should seek the Solicitor’s surname before sending it to other offices. PDM can help you determine if the Solicitor should review the package.
C. You should ask Headquarters Directorate members whose programs have significant responsibility to review and concur on the final draft chapter.
3.8 What happens if a reviewing official does not concur with the chapter and requests changes? A reviewing official should never hold a chapter because of disagreement. If the reviewing official takes exception to a chapter, then:
A. The reviewing official should contact the originating office to discuss and resolve the issue. If possible, the reviewing official should provide suggestions for ways to change the document to make it acceptable.
B. If you cannot resolve the issue, then the originating office should contact PDM. PDM will take one of the following actions:
(1) Act as an intermediary to try to find a way to resolve the issue.
(2) Refer the matter to the Deputy Director for resolution.
3.9 What if the author needs to make substantial changes to the document after reviewing officials have already surnamed it, but before the Director approves it? When you make substantial changes to a chapter after it has been through all or part of the surname process, you should ask offices or divisions substantially affected to re-surname the chapter. If PDM has already surnamed the document, PDM will assist you in coordinating the re-surnaming process.
3.10 Does the author need to put the entire chapter through the surname process if he/she only wants to make a small change or correction to an existing chapter? No. If you have a minor change, you can amend the chapter. We consider minor changes to be such things as modifying a few sentences, correcting typographical errors, or changing titles to reflect changes in the organization.
A. To prepare an amendment, use the format in Exhibit 4, 011 FW 2. The amendment must include a brief description of its purpose and a clear explanation of what you are changing or adding.
B. Upload the elements of the surname package to DTS as described in section 3.6 above. Use a redline/strikeout version to show the changes to the existing chapter and include a copy in the DTS record.
C. After the surname process is complete and the Director has signed the amendment, PDM will publish it.
D. In most cases, you may only amend a chapter once. If a chapter already has one amendment and it needs to be revised again, you should put the entire, revised chapter through the surname process. Amending a chapter more than once is confusing to the reader.
3.11 Who publishes the chapter after the Director approves it? PDM publishes the chapter. PDM will notify the originating office when they publish the chapter and will retain the original documents with signatures. PDM posts all chapters on the Internet as soon as possible after the Director signs them. |
For information on the content of this chapter, contact Krista Holloway in the Division of Policy and Directives Management, at Krista_Holloway@fws.gov.
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