FOR RELEASE:  March 7, 1994                CONTACT:  John Barclay
                                                   (202) 208-3983

          MMS BRIEFS STATE LEGISLATORS ON ENERGY ISSUES (#40017)

     The Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service
(MMS) played host to 90 state lawmakers and industry
representatives from nine energy producing states and Canada 
March 7.
 
     The legislators, participants in a meeting of The Energy
Council, received briefings on several issues.  Those included new
oil spill financial responsibility requirements mandated by the Oil
Pollution Act of 1990, offshore royalty matters, and lease and
royalty stipulations.  Speaking and answering questions were
Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, MMS Director Tom Fry and Dr. F.
Eugene Hester, Acting Director of the National Biological Survey.

     Interior Department officials, however, didn't do all the
talking, according to Fry.  "A big part of our job is listening to
those we serve," he said, "and our energy-related partnerships with
the states make them some of our most important customers."  Fry
said he asked the lawmakers to share their opinions about Federal
energy issues with MMS officials, now and in the future.  "We need
to have their perception of how well we're doing our job, as well
as their ideas on how we can do it better," he said.  "A crucial
part of reinventing government is making sure that our customers
have a strong voice in our decisions."

     The briefing was a part of the Energy Council's annual Federal
Energy and Environmental Matters Conference, held this year in
Washington, D.C. from March 5 - 8.


                              -MMS-

Subject: PR-03/07/94 Energy Council/MMS Briefs State Legislators on
Energy Issues (#40017)