Marine Minerals Administration set to replace BOEM and BSEE

Written by Nick Blenkey

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. “The Department is applying what we’ve learned over the past decade to deliver clearer coordination, better service to the public and stronger, more integrated oversight of offshore energy development.”

The Department of the Interior has announced the start of a phased plan to establish the Marine Minerals Administration, bringing together the functions of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. Both those agencies were created in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon incident to perform the major functions of the former Minerals Management Service.

Interior says the creation of the Marine Minerals Administration is intended to improve coordination and increase efficiencies across offshore leasing, permitting, inspections and environmental oversight, while maintaining all existing regulatory protections and rigorous safety standards.

This streamlined approach, it says, reflects the evolution of offshore energy development and the need for a more integrated approach to managing conventional and emerging resources such as critical minerals. By aligning planning, leasing and oversight functions, the Department is positioning the agency to better meet current and future energy demands.

“President Trump has been laser focused on making the government work efficiently and effectively for the American people. This is about building an agency that reflects where we are today and where we need to go,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. “The Department is applying what we’ve learned over the past decade to deliver clearer coordination, better service to the public and stronger, more integrated oversight of offshore energy development.”

The establishment of the Marine Minerals Administration, says Interior, marks a strategic step toward a more modern, coordinated approach to offshore resource management. The agency will better align resource planning, leasing decisions and operational oversight under a unified structure, reducing duplication and improving decision-making across the full lifecycle of offshore development.

National Ocean Industries Association president Erik Milito issued the following statement:

“Our industry supports an Interior management and oversight system that efficiently expands access to marine resources, streamlines the permitting and approval process, implements a reasonable regulatory framework for safety and environmental protection, and ensures effective oversight functions.

“Two separate-yet-overlapping government agencies responsible for administering the same statute – the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act – can understandably result in inconsistencies and delays in the implementation of the regulatory process. Bringing them back together should result in closer coordination and a more efficiently functioning government, for the benefit of American citizens who rely upon the energy produced from the U.S. outer continental shelf to fuel our economy and lift society.”