U.S. Department of the Interior
Minerals Management Service
Office of Communications
NEWS RELEASE
FOR RELEASE: | May 5, 1999 | CONTACT: | Anne-Berry
Wade (202) 208-3985 |
MMS and Army Corps of Engineers Sign Memorandum of Agreement
On April 21, 1999, the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (USACE) and the Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS)
signed a Memorandum of Agreement to plan and coordinate procedures for shore protection
projects approved and funded by Congress. Commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
Lieutenant General Joe N. Ballard, and Acting Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Land
and Minerals Management, Sylvia Baca signed the agreement.
The need for federal sand resources for shore
protection projects is increasing as nearshore sources are becoming less available.
"By coordinating the use of our available expertise and resources, these procedures
will benefit State and local governments, MMS and USACE," said Lt. Gen. Ballard.
Acting Assistant Secretary Baca agrees.
"These procedures and coordinating mechanisms will enable MMS to respond in a more
efficient and timely manner to Corps requests for access to federal sand resources for
authorized shore protection projects," she said.
Under existing shore protection laws passed by
Congress, USACE participates in the development and implementation of projects to prevent
or control shore erosion, and reduce damage to upland developments caused by wind and
tidal-generated waves and currents along the Nation's coasts and shores. USACE projects
protect less than one percent of the Nation's shoreline but prevent millions of dollars in
damage each year.
The MMS is the Federal agency that manages the
Nation's oil, gas, sand, gravel and other mineral resources on the Outer Continental Shelf
and collects, accounts for, and last year disbursed about $6 billion in revenues from
Federal offshore leases and Federal and Indian onshore mineral leases.
-MMS-
MMS Internet website address: http://www.mms.gov
24 hour Fax-on-Demand Service:(202) 219-1703