The NewsRoom
Release:
Date: June 21, 2010
Salazar Swears-In Michael R. Bromwich to Lead Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement
Secretarial Order Begins Reorganization of Former MMS
WASHINGTON, DC – Secretary
of the Interior Ken Salazar today swore-in former Justice
Department Inspector General Michael Bromwich to lead reforms that
will strengthen oversight and policing of offshore oil and gas
development.
Bromwich will
oversee the fundamental restructuring of the former Minerals
Management Service, which was responsible for overseeing oil and gas
development on the Outer Continental Shelf. A
Secretarial Order that Salazar has signed renames the Minerals
Management Service the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation
and Enforcement (“Bureau of Ocean Energy” or “BOE”) as it undergoes
reorganization and reform.
“Michael Bromwich
has a strong track record of reforming the way organizations work,
both in the public and private sectors,” Salazar said. “He will be a
key part of our team as we continue to change the way the Department
of the Interior does business, help our nation transition to a clean
energy future, and lead the reforms that will raise the bar for
offshore oil and gas operations.”
“The BP oil spill
has underscored the need for stronger oversight of offshore oil and
gas operations, more tools and resources for aggressive enforcement,
and a more effective structure for the agency that holds companies
accountable,” said Bromwich. “We will move quickly and responsibly
on our reforms.”
The Secretarial
Order renaming MMS as the Bureau of Ocean Energy is one of several
organizational reforms that Bromwich will lead. Bromwich is working
with Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Wilma Lewis;
Assistant Secretary for Policy; Management and Budget Rhea Suh; and
Senior Advisor Chris Henderson on the implementation program for
restructuring of the agency’s oil and gas management missions.
Bromwich served as
Inspector General for the Department of Justice from 1994 to 1999
and oversaw numerous high-profile investigations including the
misconduct in the FBI laboratory and the FBI’s involvement in the
Aldrich Ames case.
He has also served
as an assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the
Southern District of New York from 1983 to 1987 and as an associate
counsel in the Office of the Independent Counsel during Iran-Contra
investigation from 1987 to 1989.
As a partner with
the law firm of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson since 1999,
Bromwich has specialized in conducting internal investigations for
private companies and other organizations; providing monitoring and
oversight services in connection with public and private litigation
and government enforcement actions; and representing institutions
and individuals in white-collar criminal and regulatory matters.
Since May 28,
Bureau of Land Management Director Bob Abbey has been serving as
Interim Acting Director of the Minerals Management Service. Abbey
will return to serving as full-time director of the BLM.
As a lawyer in
private practice, Bromwich conducted many major internal
investigations for companies, both publicly traded and privately
held, in the energy, pharmaceuticals, public accounting, and private
security industries, among others; reviewed the compliance programs
and policies of major companies in a variety of industries,
conducted extensive field reviews of such programs and made
recommendations for their improvement; and represented companies and
individuals in state and federal criminal investigations.
In
2002 the Department of Justice and the District of Columbia selected
Bromwich to serve as the Independent Monitor for the District of
Columbia’s Metropolitan Police Department, focusing on use of force,
civil rights integrity, internal misconduct, and training issues.
He served in that position until 2008 when the department was
determined to have achieved substantial compliance.
In
2007, Bromwich was selected by the City of Houston to undertake a
comprehensive investigation of the Houston Police Department Crime
Lab. The investigation identified serious problems in some of the
crime lab’s operations, and Bromwich made recommendations for the
lab’s improvement.
A
1976 graduate of Harvard, Bromwich received a JD from Harvard Law
School and a Masters degree in public policy from the university’s
John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Over
the last several weeks, Secretary Salazar has continued his agenda
to
change how the Department of the Interior does business,
including launching several reforms to the management and oversight
of offshore energy operations.
Recent reforms include:
· Moving
to divide MMS’s three separate and conflicting missions into
three separate entities - the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management,
the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and the Office
of Natural Resource Revenue to improve the oversight of offshore
energy development;
· Issuing
a directive to all oil and gas lessees and operators on the Outer
Continental Shelf implementing
stronger safety requirements that Salazar recommended in his
30-day safety
report to the President;
· Issuing
a directive to all oil and gas lessees and operators on the Outer
Continental Shelf strengthening
blowout prevention requirements; and
· Ordering
a
six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling in the gulf to give
the industry time to implement new safety requirements and to allow
the Presidential Commission to complete its work on the Deepwater
Horizon spill.
To view the Secretarial Order,
click here.
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Last Updated:
06/21/2010,
02:08 PM
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