U.S. Department of the Interior
Minerals Management Service
Office of Communications
NEWS RELEASE
FOR RELEASE: | May 13, 1999 | CONTACT: | Anne-Berry
Wade (202) 208-3985 Ken Mireles 202-208-3985 |
MMS PUBLISHES APPEALS RULE
Today, the Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service
(MMS), and the Office of Hearings and Appeals, announced they have amended certain parts
of the rule governing the appeal of orders from MMS Royalty Management and Offshore Energy and Minerals Management programs. The amended rule does not finalize all sections of the
proposed rule addressing the appeals process.
MMS issued a proposed appeals rule on January 12, 1999. At this time,
however, MMS is finalizing only those portions of the proposed rule that are necessary to
meet the statutory deadlines of the Royalty Simplification and Fairness Act (RSFA).
"MMS has not had adequate time to review and consider all the comments received
concerning the changes to the appeals process, which were presented in the proposed rule
in January. We will continue to work on this important area and hope to have a final rule
published later in the year," said Tom Kitsos, Acting Director of MMS.
With this amended rule, the Department's internal appeals process will
ensure that appeals are acted on within 33-months, as stipulated in RSFA.
Other provisions of the amended rule being made final in today's
Federal Register will:
MMS is the Federal agency that manages the Nation's natural gas, oil
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 mineral leases
and from onshore mineral leases on Federal and Indian lands.
-MMS-
MMS Internet website address: http://www.mms.gov
24 hour Fax-on-Demand Service:(202) 219-1703