MMS TO SLOW PACE, CUT SIZE OF LEASE SALES

The U.S. Minerals Management Service plans to take a very different approach to future offshore lease sales.

It will schedule fewer sales, offer less acreage, and pay more attention to environmental concerns.

Barry Williamson, MMS director, said those changes will be reflected in the next 5 year offshore leasing plan.

A first draft of that plan was to have been released this month, but it is being postponed until President Bush decides on the fate of three sales and the Department of Energy issues its initial National Energy Strategy (NES).

A year ago Bush named a White House task force to explore environmental concerns regarding one proposed sale off Florida and two off California. That group reported to him in January. He is expected soon to announce his decision on whether to conduct the sales.

Williamson said, "We will wrap our 5 year plan around the principles he outlines for US."

He also said MMS soon will issue air quality regulations for platforms off California that will be the most stringent in history.

"They will go far enough to improve the air quality onshore."

ADMINISTRATION'S SIGNATURE

Williamson called the leasing plan, which will cover 1992-97, the "perfect opportunity" for Bush, Interior Sec. Manuel Lujan, and the administration to put their signature on the way they want to run offshore operations in the 1990's.

"I think you will see a vastly different approach than you've seen in the 1980's, and the reason, quite frankly, is that times are different," Williamson said.

"We have to be in tune with the American people, in tune with the environment, and in tune with the resources. That means we'll have a slower, more prudent, more focused approach. I think you'll see a vastly different plan than before."

Environmental stipulations for leasing will be tailored to sale areas to fit the people, resources, and environment in those areas. There will be more emphasis on making decisions earlier in the sale process and working closer with local communities.

AREA-WIDE SALES

MMS will not offer as much acreage as it did during the Reagan administration of the 1980's.

Of area-wide lease offerings, Williamson said, "It seemed like we were offering the whole world when we ended up leasing only a small amount.

"We want to fine tune our program to be closer with what we offer to what we lease... We should not be offering 20 million acres when we lease only 2 million."

Asked about MMS's legal obligations to lease, Williamson said, "Our responsibility is to manage resources and maximize them in an environmentally sound manner. Obviously we have to have a balanced approach."