Nearly 40 Kentucky properties make federal surplus list


The Obama administration recently asked Congress to set up a special commission that would make it easier to get rid of those surplus federal properties, including 39 in Kentucky. The White House would like to set up a nonpartisan panel resembling those at closed military bases, a move federal officials say would cut red tape and other impediments to disposing of surplus property.



The White House said it would see savings of as much as $15 billion by no longer having to maintain or pay for utilities at some of the underused or unused facilities. The government in 2009 reported spending $134 million to maintain buildings that have been declared excess. It costs an estimated $1.3 billion a year to maintain federal buildings that aren't yet declared surplus but that go underused.

But it's unclear whether there's much value in getting rid of some of the properties on the list, such as a 14-square-foot building that even staffers had trouble locating at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area in western Kentucky.








Obama administration officials said their proposed bill, which needs congressional approval, is the first of its kind covering non-military surplus properties.