Minerals Management Service to undergo radical overhaul

By The Post's Juliet Eilperin and Ed O'Keefe:

The Obama administration announced Tuesday that it would radically overhaul the obscure government agency that oversees offshore drilling operations, under scrutiny since the oil rig explosion in the gulf.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said he would divide the Minerals Management Service in an effort to separate its apparently conflicting missions. He planned to split the section that ensures energy companies comply with federal safety and environmental laws from the part that reaps billions in drilling royalties each year.

The move, he said, was designed to guarantee "there is no conflict, real or perceived, with respect to those functions."

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