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Interior Announces Next Steps in Overhaul of Offshore Energy Oversight and Management

News release: Salazar, Bromwich Announce Next Steps in Overhaul of Offshore Energy Oversight and Management: “The former MMS was saddled with the conflicting missions of promoting resource development, enforcing safety regulations, and maximizing revenues from offshore operations..Those conflicts, combined with a chronic lack of resources, prevented the agency from fully meeting the challenges of overseeing industry operating in U.S. waters. The reorganization is designed to remove those conflicts by clarifying and separating missions across the three agencies and providing each of the new agencies with clear missions and new resources necessary to fulfill those missions.”

  • News release: “On January 19, 2011, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Director Bromwich announced the separation of the: 1) the resource development and energy management functions of BOEMRE; and 2) the safety and enforcement functions of BOEMRE.
    • The new Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will be responsible for managing development of the nation’s offshore resources in an environmentally and economically responsible way. Functions will include: Leasing, Plan Administration, Environmental Studies, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Analysis, Resource Evaluation, Economic Analysis and the Renewable Energy Program.
    • The new Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) will enforce safety and environmental regulations. Functions will include: All field operations including Permitting and Research, Inspections, Offshore Regulatory Programs, Oil Spill Response, and newly formed Training and Environmental Compliance functions.”
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