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NY TimesWASHINGTON — President Obama is proposing to split the agency that oversees offshore oil drilling into two parts, one to inspect oil rigs and enforce safety and the other to oversee leases for drilling and collect royalties, the White House said Tuesday.
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The shift would be the first major structural change in government regulation of oil and gas operations since the destructive Gulf Coast oil spill that began on April 20. The formal announcement is expected to be made by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar at 1 p.m. Eastern time, officials said.
Mr. Salazar will propose breaking up the Minerals Management Service, which has been caught up in scandals repeatedly in recent years and has been accused of being too cozy with the industry it is supposed to regulate. Its current mission includes collecting royalties and negotiating leases while at the same time acting as a policeman, overseeing safety and environmental protection rules.
The minerals service supervises one of the federal government’s largest sources of revenue after personal and corporate income taxes. It collects an average of $13 billion a year in royalties and fees from oil and gas on public and Indian lands and offshore.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/12/us/12interior.html