Salazar names Bromwich and Beaudreau to lead new offshore bureaus

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today named current Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) Director Michael R. Bromwich to lead the newly formed Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and current BOEMRE Senior Advisor Tommy P. Beaudreau to lead the newly formed Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).

Bromwich and Beaudreau have both been highly involved in the creation of the two new bureaus, as well as the Department’s efforts to strengthen the oversight of offshore oil and gas exploration and development. BSEE and BOEM will be officially established on Oct. 1, 2011.

Bromwich has agreed to serve as the BSEE Director until a permanent director is selected. The Department has launched anationwide recruitment effort to find a permanent director. Beaudreau will serve as permanent BOEM Director.

“We have moved quickly and thoughtfully to create strong and separate agencies to manage offshore energy development, collect energy revenues, and to oversee safety and environmental protection on the Outer Continental Shelf,” said Secretary Salazar.

On May 19, 2010, Secretary Salazar signed a Secretarial Order that divided the three conflicting missions of the Minerals Management Service (MMS) into separate entities, BSEE, BOEM and the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR), each with independent missions. MMS was renamed BOEMRE in mid-June 2010. ONRR was separated from BOEMRE in October 1, 2011 and now operates under the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget. ONRR is responsible for the management of revenues associated with federal offshore and federal and American Indian onshore mineral leases, as well as revenues received as a result of offshore renewable energy efforts.

BSEE will be responsible for inspections, enforcement, and safety of offshore oil and gas operations. Its functions will include the development and enforcmenet of safety and environmental regulations, research, inspections, offshore regulatory programs, oil spill response, and newly formed training and environmental compliance programs.

“For the past fifteen months, we have worked extremely hard to build two new organizations that are staffed with high-quality professionals who are committed to their respective missions,” said BSEE Director Bromwich. “I believe BSEE and BOEM have very bright futures, and I congratulate Tommy on his new position. He will do an outstanding job. I am honored to lead BSEE and to carry on its important work until a permanent director can be found.”

Before being asked by President Obama and Secretary Salazar to lead BOEMRE in June 2010, Bromwich previously served as Inspector General for the Department of Justice from 1994 to 1999. Prior to that he served as a federal prosecutor in New York and Washington, D.C., and during his career has spent eighteen years in private law practice.

BOEM will be responsible for energy leasing and planning on the Outer Continental Shelf. BOEM’s programs include offshore leasing, resource evaluation, review and administration of oil and gas exploration and development plans, renewable energy development, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis, and environmental studies.

“The nation’s offshore energy resources, both conventional and renewable, are essential to our country’s economy and security. The new BOEM will be focused on ensuring that our offshore resources are developed sensibly and responsibly,” said BOEM Director Beaudreau. “I am proud to be BOEM’s first director and look forward to helping fulfill Secretary Salazar’s and Director Bromwich’s vision for this new agency.”

Beaudreau currently serves as a Senior Advisor to the BOEMRE Director where he has played an integral role in implementing the Bureau’s reform agenda with respect to the regulation of offshore oil and gas development and the reorganization of the former MMS. Prior to his work at BOEMRE, Beaudreau was a partner at the law firm Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP.

September 16, 2011