There are 1,700 employees within the Minerals Management Service Salazar said. Most of the employees at MMS are good public servants. There are bad apples within the organization. People have been reprimanded. People have been turned over for prosecution. We will have zero tolerance with respect to ethical lapses.
26, 2010, 2:17 PM EDT
By Jim Efstathiou Jr.
May 26 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. will review Royal Dutch Shell Plcs plans to explore for oil and natural gas off Alaskas coast and take steps to increase safety on all offshore rigs, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said today.
Shells application to drill exploratory wells in the Arctic Ocean faces new scrutiny because of the spill from BP Plcs well in the Gulf of Mexico, Salazar told a House panel probing the spill. Shells plans were conditionally approved last year by Salazar, and drilling could begin within months in Alaskas Beaufort and Chukchi seas.