Delahunt Endorses Salazar Proposal To Reform MMS

Press Release

U.S. Rep. Bill Delahunt today praised Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar's proposal to break up the Minerals Management Service (MMS) into three distinct agencies - one to oversee development of oil drilling and wind farms on the outer continental shelf, another to enforce safety and environmental regulations, and the third to oversee leasing and royalty collections.

"The recent Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion once again raises serious questions about the organization and competence of management at the MMS. Over the years, we have learned a great deal about mismanagement at the agency and the ethical conflicts between promoting offshore energy and oversight of these activities. Now it's time to do something about it." Delahunt said.

As outlined in today's Congressional Quarterly, "a cascade of searing reports over the past decade by government investigators and auditors showed that MMS officials repeatedly granted safety and environmental exemptions to oil companies, failed to require new safety mechanisms, did not collect revenue that companies should have paid, and engaged in sex and drug parties."

The Government Accounting Office reported in today's New York Times that the MMS lacked clear guidelines for environmental reviews and its office in Alaska routinely ignored recommendations by other federal scientists and experts.

The Department of the Interior Inspector General's report on the Cape Wind Project found that the MMS rushed other environmental reviews. They also reported that the Environmental Protection Agency "expressed frustration that MMS's timeline unnecessarily limited the amount of interagency coordination needed for such a large, complex project."

Today the MMS has about 1,700 employees. Under the report proposal, the agency will be divided among:

· The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, responsible for planning, permitting and leasing. Salazar said the agency would have a staff of about 700.
· The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, responsible for comprehensive oversight, safety and environmental protection of offshore oil operations. It will have a staff of about 300.
· The Office of Natural Resources Revenue, which, under the supervision of the assistant secretary for policy, management and budget, will collect and audit royalties and revenues. The office will have a staff of about 700.

"While much of the responsibility for the tragedy in the Gulf lies at the hand of BP, the American people expect federal agencies to take seriously their responsibilities to protect the environment and provide proper oversight of offshore energy activities. We need clear environmental and safety standards, with aggressive and independent monitoring and compliance. The record of failure at MMS on these standards is clear, and the Congress must take action now to restore confidence in this agency," Delahunt said.

The reform proposal has been established by an order of the Secretary, but will require Congressional approval.

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