US reviews changes in offshore oil drilling office

WASHINGTON — US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Wednesday received plans to restructure the now defunct scandal-plagued office that regulated offshore oil drilling.The overhaul comes after an Interior Department probe in May showed that staff at the Minerals Management Service district office in Lake Charles, Louisiana used illegal drugs, accepted gifts from oil companies and falsified inspection reports.The inspector general's report also found that MMS staffers accepted sports events tickets paid for by an oil company and viewed pornography on government computers.One of the staff members interviewed for the report was talking with an oil company about a job with them at the same time as he was inspecting the company's oil platforms, the report said.The MMS was the office in charge of regulating oil drilling ahead of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.Salazar on May 19 ordered the MMS restructured, changed its name and split the agency into three new agencies, separating its resource management, safety and environmental oversight, and revenue-collection responsibilities.The overhaul plan "is based on the premise that the missions formerly carried out by the Minerals Management Service must be clearly defined and distinct from each other," Salazar said in a statement. "In short, we must eliminate real and perceived conflicts within the organization."Reorganization "is not the sole means of addressing the problems in federal offshore energy management, but it is an essential element of a broader program that includes major new safety requirements, investigation of the BP oil spill, legislative and regulatory reform, and programs to enhance enforcement and inspection activity," the statement read.Once approved, the changes can begin as early as October 1 and be completed in 2011, the statement read.Salazar "is reviewing the plan and has forwarded it to congressional leaders for their review and comment," the statement read.The three new federal agencies are the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the

Add comment

Nick
Content

Submit