Federal Regulations: Minerals Management Service

The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) established federal jurisdiction over submerged lands on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) seaward of state boundaries. Under the OCSLA, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) is responsible for the administration of mineral exploration and development of the OCS. Pursuant to a delegation by the DOI Secretary, the Minerals Management Service (MMS), a DOI bureau, is the federal agency that manages the nation's natural gas, oil and other mineral resources on the OCS. The agency also collects, accounts for, and disburses the revenues from federal offshore mineral leases and from onshore mineral leases on federal and Indian lands. The national program includes two major programs: Offshore Minerals Management and Minerals Revenue Management. The offshore program, which manages the mineral resources on the OCS, features three regions: Alaska, Gulf of Mexico, and the Pacific.

Contact

Minerals Management Service
Chief of Public Affairs
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20240
(202) 208-3985 (phone)
(202) 208-3968 (fax)
Directory of Key MMS Officials

OCS Regional Offices

Gulf of Mexico OCS Region
Alaska OCS Region
Pacific OCS Region

Produced Water Management Practices and Applicable Regulations

The MMS regulations governing oil and gas operations in the OCS are codified at 30 CFR Part 250 (Oil and Gas and Sulphur Operations in the Outer Continental Shelf). Notices to Lessees (NTLs) clarify, describe, or interpret offshore regulations or standards. NTLs also may provide guidelines on special lease stipulations, explain the MMS's interpretation of requirements, or transmit administrative information. There are two types of NTLs — those issued at the regional level, pertinent to a particular region, and those issued nationally that are effective nationwide for all MMS regions. The MMS Gulf of Mexico OCS Region (GOMR) has published NTL No. 99-G22, Guidelines for the Sub-Seabed Disposal and Offshore Storage of Solid Wastes.

• In U.S. offshore areas, operators may inject produced water that originates on the OCS into injection wells, covered by the E&P exemption under RCRA. Each application for underground injection must be authorized on a case-by-case basis by the MMS (see 30 CFR §250.300(b)(2)).

• Injection Criteria — If operators plan to inject produced waters through underground injection wells for purposes of disposal, the receiving formation (1) must be located below the deepest underground source of drinking water, (2) must be isolated above and below by shale layers, and (3) may not contain any producing wells. Operators must demonstrate that injection wells have mechanical integrity. In contrast to disposal operations, reinjection of produced water for enhanced recovery is considered part of processing not subject to the NTL. MMS officials note that most produced water is discharged overboard (subject to all applicable requirements) and that enhanced recovery operations are in the majority of cases conducted through gas injection.

Other Publications

MMS completed an Environmental Assessment on deep-water operations and activities in the Gulf of Mexico in May 2000. The MMS has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program: 2007-2012.