New drilling agency head to form internal investigations unit

The official tapped to lead the overhauled federal offshore drilling agency said Wednesday he’s creating a new internal investigations unit to probe allegations of misconduct by federal employees and energy companies.

Michael Bromwich — who began work Monday heading the newly-named Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement — said he created a similar unit when he was inspector general (IG) at the Department of Justice in the 1990s.

“My two-and-a-half days on the job have showed me there is not that kind of investigative capability in my organization, and I think it is vital to create it,” Bromwich told a panel of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

“We are going to try and stand that up ... as soon as possible,” he said at the hearing of the subcommittee that oversees Interior Department spending.

The move comes as the Obama administration is seeking to blunt political criticism of its offshore drilling oversight in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Bromwich said the “internal investigations and review unit” will explore purported misconduct by agency staff and allegations that oil-and-gas producers are violating lease terms, making false statements or engaging in other misconduct to obtain leases.

The new Bureau of Ocean Energy replaces the Minerals Management Service, which has long been plagued by ethics problems.

The Interior Department’s acting inspector general recently issued a report that revealed MMS regulators received gifts, such as sports tickets, from oil companies several years ago.

It was the latest in a series of damaging reports about inappropriate ties in past years between regulators and oil company employees at the agency that oversees scores of offshore drilling rigs.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has taken a number of steps — including implementing new ethics standards — which he says are aimed at preventing such lapses.

“It is shocking behavior. It is absolutely shocking behavior,” Bromwich said Wednesday. “There will be zero tolerance for corruption, coziness, et cetera.”

Bromwich emphasized that the new investigative unit will also explore industry conduct. The BP oil spill has prompted allegations that oil companies have overstated their ability to respond to accidents, and raised a suite of other questions about industry practices.

The Interior Department circulated a description of the new investigative unit Wednesday morning. It will “complement” the work of Interior’s inspector general, according to the agency.

“The unit will coordinate with the IG’s office on matters it investigates, will pursue investigations with the IG’s consent and knowledge, and will advise the IG of the status and results of its investigations. The new team also will be responsible for overseeing and coordinating the Bureau’s internal auditing, regulatory oversight and enforcement systems,” Interior said.

The new unit will provide better monitoring of compliance with laws and rules and enable officials to “respond quickly to emerging issues and major events” including spills and other accidents, Interior said.

The reorganization of MMS, which Salazar announced last month, includes the creation of separate departments to handle energy leasing, safety and environmental enforcement, and revenue collections.

The bundling of the roles within MMS had created “conflicting missions,” according to Salazar.

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