Interior completes the split of BOEMRE

As from Oct. 1, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement has ceased to exist, with the U.S Department of the Interior splitting the agency into the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM, and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, or BSEE.

In the wake of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar decided to divide the U.S. Minerals Management Service, the agency responsible for oversight of resource development on the outer continental shelf, into three new agencies, independently responsible for OCS revenues; resource management; and safety and environmental oversight. Interior duly renamed MMS as BOEMRE and on Oct. 1, 2010, split off a new Office of Natural Resources Revenue.

With the splitting apart of the resource management and regulatory oversight functions of the old MMS being much more complex than carving out the revenue functions, BOEMRE has remained in place as a temporary entity, while Interior has worked through the complex process of teasing apart agency functions that were intertwined.

The split of BOEMRE into BOEM and BSEE marks the end of that process.

“We have worked tirelessly to strengthen safety and oversight of offshore energy development, and to ensure that the lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon guide safe and responsible development,” said Secretary Salazar when announcing the final completion of the MMS reorganization. “By restructuring our management and enforcement structure, we have clarified our agencies’ roles and responsibilities and strengthened our oversight capabilities.”

Michael Bromwich, who had been the director of BOEMRE, has become interim director of BSEE, until Interior completes a search for a permanent director. Tommy Beaudreau is director of BOEM. Mark Fesmire is regional director of BSEE in Alaska, while Dr. James Kendall is Alaska regional director of BOEM.

—Alan Bailey