Department of the Interior
Departmental Manual
Effective Date: 4/4/00
Series: Organization
Part 118: Minerals Management Service
Chapter 3: Office of the Director
Originating Office: Minerals Management Service
118 DM 3
3.1 Director. The Director oversees all of the activities of the Minerals Management Service. The Director establishes and maintains necessary communication channels with the Congress, the States, Indian tribes and allottee associations, industry, the environmental community, and other government agencies. The Director is assisted in carrying out these duties by a Deputy Director, who also serves as the MMS's Chief Financial Officer and chairs the Information Resources Management Review Council, and by a Chief of Staff. The Chief of Staff supervises three staff offices, as described below, that provide support to the Director.
3.2 Office of Congressional Affairs. The Chief, Office of Congressional Affairs serves as the MMS primary point of contact between MMS and the Congress. The office maintains an open line of communication regarding MMS programs and policies, items of legislative action involving MMS, the dissemination of material, and any other statements of MMS positions on matters under consideration by the Congress. The office is responsible for MMS legislative initiatives, trends and developments, anticipated needs for new legislation, and the policy and programmatic impacts of existing legislative proposals. Responsibilities also include the preparation and coordination of testimony for Department or MMS witnesses, as required, and coordination of arrangements for congressional visits/meetings. The office maintains close liaison with the Secretary's Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs.
3.3 Office of Public Affairs. The Chief, Office of Public Affairs is responsible for the broad communications strategy and outreach to external customers and stakeholders of the MMS. The office provides liaison for the Director with intergovernmental and external constituencies on issues affecting MMS and provides leadership in efforts to involve the public in MMS decisionmaking processes. The office prepares and distributes news releases to the print and electronic media and responds to inquiries from the media and the public or refers such inquiries to the appropriate MMS official. Staff members identify trends and problems related to MMS programs with external constituencies; provide liaison to federal, State, and local governmental organizations and committees on issues related to MMS programs; and coordinate, at the bureau level, a variety of outreach efforts. The office maintains close liaison with the Secretary's Offices of Communications and External Affairs.
3.4 Office of Document Management. The Chief, Office of Document Management is responsible for ensuring the timely development and coordination of MMS documents requiring review, action, or signature by the Director or Departmental officials. Office staff ensures that documents, correspondence, or actions under review are complete, accurate, and timely. To accomplish this, the staff maintains an automated tracking system with electronic capture, archiving, and dissemination of controlled documents and produces status and other management reports as necessary. The office is also responsible for managing FOIA requests that require a response from the Director's office. The office serves as a clearinghouse for the consolidation of several channels of information, all of which require action, review, or followup. The office works closely with the Departmental Executive Secretariat to ensure conformance with Secretarial and Departmental guidance and policies and is responsible for providing training within MMS on document preparation procedures and policies. The office maintains contact with the staff of the Assistant Secretary - Land and Minerals Management and other Assistant Secretaries to ensure coordination on issues of multibureau interest and concern.
4/4/00 #3302
Replaces 12/9/96 #3104