After 33 years of distinguished service in the Federal Government, Carolita Kallaur, the Minerals Management Service’s Associate Director in charge of the Offshore Energy and Minerals Management Program, retired on February 2, 2002.

One of the original employees of MMS, Ms. Kallaur was present when the agency was created in 1982, and rose through the ranks to eventually become the Federal Government’s chief regulator of the offshore oil and gas industry. She was responsible for all phases of Outer Continental Shelf mineral resource management from lease issuance through the initial phases of exploration and development to production and then decommissioning. In this capacity, she continually emphasized that the offshore program’s success was determined not only by the ability to extract mineral resources, but also by the ability to do it safely while protecting the offshore environment and obtaining a fair return on those resources for the American people

Announcing Ms. Kallaur’s retirement, Acting MMS Director Lucy Querques Denett noted that "Because of Carolita’s leadership, MMS is today acknowledged as an internationally recognized efficient and effective regulator with a clear commitment to safe operations and protection of the environment and is sought out by industry and governments around the world for its knowledge and expertise."

Ms. Kallaur has been honored with a number of awards in her career, including the Meritorious Service Award, the Distinguished Service Award, and the Presidential Meritorious Rank Award in 1987 and 1992. In 1995, she was awarded the Presidential Distinguished Rank Award--the highest award presented to an employee of the Federal Government--for exceptional contributions and leadership in the Nation’s offshore energy and mineral programs.

Before becoming the Associate Director of the Offshore Program in 1997, Ms. Kallaur was appointed to be the Acting Director of MMS in 1993, and had a key role in assisting the transition between Presidential administrations. She subsequently served as Special Assistant to the Director and was responsible for representing MMS and the Department of the Interior during development of administration programs and policies on mineral resource activities. She was named Deputy Director on August 20, 1994, and served in that capacity until 1997. She also served as Chief Financial Officer for the bureau.

Ms. Kallaur has B.A. and M.A. degrees in economics from the University of Connecticut. She is a Connecticut native and resides in Washington, D.C., with her husband, Walter V. Kallaur. She began her federal career with the Interior Department in 1968 as an economist with the Bureau of Land Management.

MMS is the federal agency in the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages the nation's oil, natural gas and other mineral resources on the outer continental shelf in federal offshore waters. The agency also collects, accounts for and disburses mineral revenues from federal and Indian leases. These revenues totaled nearly $10 billion in 2001 and close to $120 billion since the agency was created in 1982. Annually, nearly $1 billion from those revenues go into the Land and Water Conservation Fund for the acquisition and development of state and federal park and recreation lands.