FOR RELEASE: October 18, 1994               CONTACT:  Lee Scurry
                                                  (202) 208-3983

          OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF SAND AND GRAVEL LEGISLATION
                  WILL AID BEACH, WETLAND RESTORATION (#40078)

      The U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management
Service (MMS) says recently passed legislation will streamline the
process for using Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) sand and gravel for
beach and wetlands restoration and onshore public works projects,
while maintaining high environmental standards. 

      H.R. 3678, passed on Oct. 3 by the House of Representatives
and on Oct. 6 by the Senate, will provide help in the effort to
control eroding shorelines, said MMS Acting Director Cynthia
Quarterman.  "Coastal erosion affects all 30 coastal states and all
U.S. island territories," she said.  "This measure is an example of
ecosystem management, and creating a successful balance by using
offshore sand and gravel for the protection of onshore coastal
areas."

      H.R. 3678 will allow the Secretary of the Interior to
negotiate sand and gravel agreements for public works projects in
a more productive manner.  Until now, access to offshore sand and
gravel had to be obtained under the same kind of competitive
leasing process as oil and gas producers must undergo.

      The bill will give state and local governments and federal
agencies a streamlined process for obtaining federal marine sand
and gravel rights for beach restoration, flood control and other
coastal projects.  It will also permit the Interior Department to
levy a fee for the sand and gravel, excluding federal projects,
based upon an assessment of its value and the public interest
served by promoting use of the resource.

      "The new, streamlined process will still ensure that the same
strict environmental standards are met for all minerals activities
as before," Quarterman said.

      "This kind of intergovernmental partnership -- made possible
by the new legislation -- will make things easier, faster and
cheaper for state and local governments," Quarterman said.  "It's
an example of a reinvented, customer-oriented federal government
doing what it's supposed to do."

      MMS has ten cooperative agreements with 16 coastal states to
study the feasibility of using offshore sand and gravel.  The
primary focus of eight of the studies is the identification and
assessment of OCS sand for coastal restoration. 

      MMS is the federal agency that manages and regulates the
nation's natural gas, oil and other mineral resources on the OCS,
and collects and disburses revenues from offshore mineral leases
and from onshore mineral leases on Federal and Indian lands.

                                 -MMS-

Subject: PR-10/18/94 Sand & Gravel Legislation/OCS Sand and Gravel
Legislation Will Aid Beach, Wetland Restoration (#40078)