Download  
Department of the Interior

Department of the Interior

Departmental Manual

 

 

Effective Date:  9/30/07

Series:     Organization

Part 110:   Office of the Secretary  

Chapter 2:  Office of the Solicitor

 

Originating Office:  Office of the Solicitor   

 

110 DM 2

 

2.1     Overall Organization.  The Office of the Solicitor, initially established pursuant to 43 U.S.C. § 1455, consists of a headquarters organization in Washington, D.C., and regional and field offices located throughout the United States.  An organization chart is attached.

 

2.2     Headquarters Organization and Responsibilities.  The Office’s headquarters organization consists of the Immediate Office of the Solicitor (including the Solicitor, Deputy Solicitor, the Departmental Ethics Office, and the Indian Trust Litigation Office), five legal divisions, and an administrative division.  Responsibility for headquarters functions is divided as follows:

 

          A.      Solicitor.  The Solicitor is the principal legal adviser to the Secretary and the chief legal officer of the Department.  He or she is responsible for and supervises all legal work in the Department, other than that specifically delegated to the Justices of American Samoa, the Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs, and the Office of Hearings and Appeals.  The authority of the Solicitor, as delegated by the Secretary, is set forth in 205 DM and 209 DM 3.  The Solicitor may be assisted by one or more Special Assistants.

 

          B.      Deputy Solicitor.  The Deputy Solicitor manages the daily operations of the Office.  He or she has full authority to represent the Solicitor in supervising Associate and Regional Solicitors and the Director of the Departmental Ethics Office in connection with all legal, operational, and administrative matters; and to provide legal counsel to the Secretary, the Deputy Secretary, the Secretariat, and the heads of bureaus and offices.  In the absence of the Solicitor, the Deputy Solicitor serves as Acting Solicitor.

 

          C.      Departmental Ethics Office.  The Departmental Ethics Office is headed by a director who is the Designated Agency Ethics Official (DAEO) and is designated the authority to coordinate and manage the Department’s ethics program.  The Departmental Ethics Office is solely responsible for legal counseling on and legal interpretations of laws and regulations related to ethical conduct, review and certification of financial disclosure reports, approval of outside work, executing waivers and authorizations, providing guidance and support to bureau ethics programs, and serving as the principal contact on ethics matters to the Office of Government Ethics and the Office of Inspector General.

 

          D.      Indian Trust Litigation Office.  The Indian Trust Litigation Office is in the Immediate Office of the Solicitor and is headed by a Counselor to the Solicitor.  The Office is responsible for defending litigation brought by Indian tribes and individual Indians asserting violations of the Secretary’s trust responsibility for tribal and individual Indian trust funds and for providing legal advice to Department’s trust bureaus and offices concerning tribal and individual Indian trust fund accounts.

 

          E.      Legal Divisions.  Each of the five legal divisions is headed by an Associate Solicitor who is responsible for legal work related to the programs and activities of the Office of the Secretary and bureau offices in the Washington, D.C., area.  Each Associate Solicitor may be assisted by a Deputy Associate Solicitor and one or more Assistant Solicitors.  One of the Assistant Solicitors may also serve as the Deputy Associate.  In the absence of the Associate Solicitor, the Deputy Associate serves as Acting Associate Solicitor.

 

                   (1)     Division of Parks and Wildlife is responsible for legal matters related to the programs and activities of the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service and the biological research functions of the Geological Survey.  In addition, the Division provides legal assistance and counsel to the Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks and the Assistant Secretary - Water and Science on matters relating to the bureaus named above.

 

                   (2)     Division of General Law is responsible for legal matters related to procurement, patents, and tort claims; insular areas; equal employment opportunity, labor law, and other personnel matters; and administrative and other general legal issues, including legislative and appropriations issues not assigned to another division.  In addition, the Division provides legal assistance and counsel to the Assistant Secretary - Policy, Management and Budget and to the Endangered Species Committee.

 

                   (3)     Division of Indian Affairs is responsible for legal matters related to the programs and activities of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Education, except those responsibilities delegated to the Indian Trust Litigation Office.  In addition, the Division provides legal assistance and counsel to the Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs and the Special Trustee for American Indians.

 

                   (4)     Division of Land and Water Resources is responsible for legal matters related to the programs and activities of the Bureau of Reclamation and the Bureau of Land Management, other than legal matters related to the minerals programs of the Bureau of Land Management.  In addition, the Division provides legal assistance and counsel to the Assistant Secretary - Water and Science and the Assistant Secretary - Land and Minerals Management on matters relating to the bureaus named above.

 

                   (5)     Division of Mineral Resources is responsible for legal matters related to the programs and activities of the Geological Survey, other than those related to its biological research functions, the Minerals Management Service, and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, as well as legal matters related to the minerals programs of the Bureau of Land Management.  In addition, the Division provides legal assistance and counsel to the Assistant Secretary - Water and Science and the Assistant Secretary - Land and Minerals Management on matters relating to the bureaus named above.

 

          F.      Division of Administration.  The Division of Administration is headed by an Associate Solicitor who is responsible for providing and coordinating all administrative and management support services needed by the Office of the Solicitor. 

 

                    (1)     The services include budget and accounting, personnel management, space and property management, procurement, program evaluation, telecommunications, information services, and records management.  The Associate Solicitor may be assisted by one or more Branch Chiefs. 

 

                    (2)     The Division of Administration also includes the Departmental Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act (PA) Appeals Office, which is headed by the Departmental FOIA/PA Appeals Officer, who decides FOIA and PA appeals and coordinates and manages the Department’s FOIA and PA appeals program.  The Departmental FOIA/PA Officer is solely responsible for deciding FOIA and PA appeals.  

 

2.3     Field Organization and Responsibilities.  The field structure of the Office of the Solicitor includes the following:

 

          A.      Regional Offices.  Each Regional Solicitor is responsible for legal work related to the programs and activities of the bureaus and offices within the region.  This responsibility is carried out by the immediate staff in each regional office and by the staff in the respective field offices.  The Regional Solicitor may be assisted by one or more Deputy and/or Assistant Regional Solicitors.

 

          B.      Field Offices.  Each field office is subordinate to a regional office and is under the direction of a Field Solicitor who reports to a Regional Solicitor.  Each field office is responsible for legal work related to the programs and activities of the bureaus and offices within its area.  The Field Solicitor may be assisted by one or more Assistant Field Solicitors.

 

          C.      Areas Served.  The following paragraphs describe in general terms the areas served by the eight regions within the Solicitor’s Office which may include one or more Field Solicitor’s Offices.  To the extent practicable, legal services are provided based on bureau and office regional boundaries, rather than Office of the Solicitor regional boundaries.  Because such boundaries vary within the Department, the actual areas served by the Solicitor's regional and field offices overlap to a considerable extent, with the result that more than one Regional or Field Solicitor's Office may handle legal matters for different bureaus within a single State.  The Solicitor’s Manual identifies the specific areas served by the regional and field offices, which may vary from this list to meet the needs of the bureaus and offices.

 

                   (1)     Northeast Region.  Areas served:  Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.  The Office of the Regional Solicitor is located in the Boston, Massachusetts, metropolitan area.

 

                   (2)     Southeast Region.  Areas served:  Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.  The Office of the Regional Solicitor is located in the Atlanta, Georgia, metropolitan area.

 

                   (3)     Southwest Region.  Areas served:  Navajo Reservation, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.  The Office of the Regional Solicitor is located in the Albuquerque, New Mexico, metropolitan area.

 

                   (4)     Rocky Mountain Region.  Areas served:  Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, and Wyoming.  The Office of the Regional Solicitor is located in the Denver, Colorado, metropolitan area.

 

                   (5)     Pacific Southwest Region.  Areas served:  California, Hawaii, Nevada, and the Pacific islands.  The Office of the Regional Solicitor is located in the Sacramento, California, metropolitan area.

 

                   (6)     Pacific Northwest Region.  Areas served:  Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.  The Office of the Regional Solicitor is located in the Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area.

 

                   (7)     Inter-mountain Region.  Areas served:  Arizona and Utah.  The Office of the Regional Solicitor is located in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area.

 

                   (8)     Alaska Region.  Area served:  Alaska.  The Office of the Regional Solicitor is located in the Anchorage, Alaska, metropolitan area.

 

9/30/07 #3773

Replaces 9/19/97 #3177