The Minerals Management Service (MMS) has been replaced by three new offices to oversee leases, drilling safety, and fee collection. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said that energy development, enforcement, and revenue collection are conflicting missions and must be separated. On May 19, 2010, Salazar signed an Order creating the:
- Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
- Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement
- Office of Natural Resources Revenue
A schedule will be developed within 30 days for the implementation
of this Order.
The Obama administration replaced the MMS (which was created in 1982) as a
direct result of the recent Deepwater Horizon Incident in the Gulf of Mexico.
Lawmakers from both parties questioned the MMS’s ability to enforce safety and
environmental regulations at the same time it promotes energy development.
Salazar anticipates the new safety office to employ about 300 people. And, he
will seek an additional $29 million from Congress for rig inspections and
enforcement; including $20 million for examination of oil-drilling platforms in
US coastal waters.
MMS news and updates on these new offices can be found at http://www.mms.gov/.
For a copy of Order No. 3299 for the establishment of these new offices,
contact Jessica Roger.