Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar restructured the Minerals Management Service late last month in response to the ongoing Gulf of Mexico oil leak.

MMS is part of the Interior Department and is responsible for regulating both offshore wind development and oil and gas drilling.  In an order signed on May 19, Salazar split the agency into three parts — the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and the Office of Natural Resources Revenue.  The order takes effect 30 days after it was signed.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will handle “resource evaluation, planning and leasing,” according to Salazar’s order.  The Office of Natural Resources Revenue will be responsible for collecting lease payments and royalties.

On May 27, about a week after Salazar’s order, Elizabeth Birnbaum resigned as Director of the Minerals Management Service.  In a statement released by the Interior Department, Birnbaum acknowledged the restructuring, saying she is “hopeful that the reforms that the Secretary and the Administration are undertaking will resolve the flaws in the current system that I inherited.”

She will be replaced on an interim basis by Bureau of Land Management Director Bob Abbey.

“Bob Abbey’s recent leadership on onshore energy reforms is exactly the kind of experience we need as we continue to reform and begin to restructure MMS,” Salazar said.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar appealed to the governors of six Atlantic Coast states last week to work with the federal government on a collaborative approach to offshore wind development in federal waters.

“A coordinated, region-wide approach to offshore wind will help us move forward with orderly development in the Atlantic [Outer Continental Shelf],” Salazar said, according to an Interior Department press release.  “Region-wide planning could foster cooperative approaches to developing the infrastructure necessary to service offshore wind development.”

The Feb. 19th Washington, D.C. meeting was attended by Gov. John Baldacci of Maine, Gov. Donald Carcieri of Rhode Island, Gov. Jack Markell of Delaware, Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland and the newly elected Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia.  Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick called in to the meeting.  McDonnell was the only Republican governor in the group.

New Jersey and New York are the other Atlantic coast states with proposed offshore wind developments.

The Minerals Management Service — the Interior agency responsible for offshore wind siting — has established joint state and federal task forces in seven states to discuss the development of offshore wind in federal waters.  Those states are Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Virginia.  The Interior Department press release said that joint task forces are also being planned for Florida and North Carolina.

“Given the enormous potential … MMS needs a dedicated Atlantic Region office as we plan for offshore renewable energy commercial leasing.” Salazar said.

The Minerals Management Service — the Interior Department agency responsible for offshore wind permitting — completed a framework earlier this year for leasing of offshore wind sites.  The MMS is establishing joint task forces with relevant states to handle permitting on the Outer Continental Shelf.  MMS officials have held task force meetings with officials from Delaware, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Virginia.  Salazar recently approved ground-breaking exploratory leases for offshore wind develeopment near New Jersey and Delaware.

The new office will handle “leasing, environmental programs, the formation of task forces, state consultation, and post-lease permitting in federal waters off the east coast.”the Interior Department said in a statement.

Salazar made his announcement has he toured an offshore wind farm in Denmark.