Yesterday Interior Secretary Ken Salazar issued a Secretarial Order dividing the Minerals Management Agency, the federal manager of oil and gas leasing, safety and revenue collection into three divisions: the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and the Office of Natural Resources Revenue.  While we applaud this effort, it is unclear whether or not these reforms are enough to ensure taxpayers receive a fair return for publicly owned natural resources and avoid costly long term environmental liabilities from spills and other accidents.   

In response to Secretary Salazar’s announcement, TCS President, Ryan Alexander, offered the following statement:

“Mismanagement at MMS has already cost taxpayers billions in lost revenue and untold damages as a result of spills that might have been prevented with better oversight. Secretary Salazar needs to publicly lay out a plan for how his changes will address the problems that have plagued MMS for years.”

TCS has called for the reform of the MMS for more than a decade.  From the fraudulent royalty and leasing system to the sex scandals with oil executives, the embattled agency has been plagued with mismanagement and corruption. While some have called for the dissolution of the MMS, the Secretary’s plan calls for a reorganization of the agency, separating its main responsibilities into three “distinct” divisions. 

Since taking office Secretary Salazar has promulgated a series of reforms, including the repeal of the Royalty-in-Kind program and an ethics overhaul .  It took years to create the current situation at MMS and we can only hope it takes much less time to get it right.  TCS will continue to monitor and analyze these reforms in the coming months.