OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING
     RECLAMATION & ENFORCEMENT

For Release April 7, 1994              Alan Cole (202) 208-2719

           OSM STARTS AGENCY REORGANIZATION PROJECT

     A proposed alignment of the Interior Department's Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) has been distributed to the agency's entire staff for
review and comment.  The new report, prepared by a working group of OSM employees,
marks the start of work to reorganize OSM in line with Interim Management Team
recommendations.
     OSM Director Robert J. Uram has briefed Departmental and Congressional officials on
the proposed functional alignment and on the process that will be followed to develop a
complete reorganization plan.
     "At this point, the proposed alignment deals only with program and administrative
responsibilities at headquarters and field units of OSM," Uram explained.  The employees
will review the proposal, then the working group will make further recommendations, based
on the employees' responses.  "Only when the functional alignment is set will we move on
to the work of recommending resource and personnel levels," Uram said.
     Uram stressed that he will not act on the proposal until the review process is
completed.  No decisions have been made on staffing levels at OSM office locations or on
individual personnel assignments, he said.
     Rick Seibel, OSM Columbus (Ohio) Field Office Director and spokesperson for the
working group that prepared the proposal, said, "The goal of this project is to help OSM do a
better job of carrying out the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act.  The
reorganization task force is made up of OSM employees.  We reviewed the entire OSM
organization to determine specific functions needed to move OSM to a regional-based
structure with a more effective headquarters operation."
     "In changing to a regional structure, the working group did not propose to close any
existing offices or open any offices in new locations," Seibel said.  "However, the group
anticipates changes in the size, function, and reporting relationships of OSM offices at their
current locations."
     Uram said the reorganization will get OSM started on the work of meeting National
Performance Review goals of "right-sizing" OSM and reaching a supervisor-to-staff ratio of 1
to 15 over the next five years.  The need for reorganization is supported by a consensus of
OSM employees, OSM managers, coal states, the coal industry, and citizen groups, and is
supported by similar views expressed in a report from the House Appropriations Committee
last year.
     As currently proposed, the functional alignment envisions regional OSM offices in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Denver, Colorado; and Knoxville, Tennessee, currently OSM's
largest offices.  Each region would be made up of district and area offices as needed. 
Washington headquarters would include directorates for External Affairs and Coordination;
Finance and Management Services; and Program Operations.

     "This proposed functional alignment of OSM is designed to make empowerment a
reality instead of a buzzword," Seibel said.  "What's most important is to empower
employees in the field to make decisions and accept responsibility for their decisions.  The
intent is to push the work and the decisions out into the field, not absorb it into the
bureaucratic superstructure."

     Uram explained that the next step will be to receive the reactions and suggestions of
OSM employees at all levels.  The National Federation of Federal Employees has been
consulted, and will continue to be, throughout the process.  Once a final reorganization plan
is developed, it will be forwarded to the Interior Department for approval and for clearance
by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and the appropriations committees of
Congress.


                             -DOI-