Interior Department

Watchdog concerned about federal helium supplies

The Government Accountability Office, Congress' watchdog agency, said there are urgent questions facing federal storage, sales and purchases of helium.

Not much planning has been done past 2015, the GAO said, and the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management must decide how to use helium in federal stores and at what price to sell it.

"During the 1960s and early 1970s, Interior purchased about 34 billion cubic feet of crude helium for conservation purposes and to meet federal helium needs, such as for the space program and scientific research," the GAO said.

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UPDATED 5:57 AM EDT, October 24, 2012

Native Alaskans stand against NPR-A development

Native Alaskans have joined forces with environmentalists in asking the Interior Department to retain its conservative management plan for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, FuelFix reports.

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UPDATED 2:43 AM EDT, October 10, 2012

Salazar okays massive Wyoming wind energy project

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Tuesday approved the construction of two Wyoming wind power projects expected to generate as much as 3,000 megawatts, or enough power for nearly 1 million homes, Bloomberg reports.

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UPDATED 2:18 AM EDT, October 10, 2012

Obama meets public lands renewable energy goal

The Interior Department announced Tuesday it had met President Barack Obama's goal of approving 10,000 megawatts of renewable power on federal lands by the end of this year, EnergyGuardian reports.

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UPDATED 1:49 AM EDT, October 3, 2012

Interior drilling chief endorses 'time out' reviews

James Watson, the Obama administration's drilling safety chief, says offshore drilling standards should be reviewed as oil companies drill in "higher and higher risk areas," The Hill reports.

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UPDATED 7:16 AM EDT, September 27, 2012

Democratic senators urge Obama to drop Arctic lease sales

A group of Democratic senators moved quickly after Shell delayed its Arctic Ocean drilling plans to call on the Obama administration to cancel future lease sales in the region, according to a letter made public Wednesday by environmental groups, EnergyGuardian reports.

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UPDATED 21:23 PM EDT, September 4, 2012

Interior chief stands behind Obama's energy policy

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said that the Obama administration remains confident about its energy policy going into the election despite the GOP's nonstop attacks, The Hill reports.
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UPDATED 1:27 AM EDT, August 17, 2012

U.S. regulators can cite oil contractors, policy document affirms

The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement affirmed on Thursday that its regulators can act against contractors for offshore drilling violations, The Wall Street Journal reports.

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UPDATED 3:21 AM EDT, August 16, 2012

Gov't finalizes safety rule for offshore drilling

Government regulators issued a final set of safety rules for offshore drilling Wednesday, fine-tuning a series of emergency measures put in place after the BP oil spill in 2010, The Associated Press reports.

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UPDATED 21:56 PM EDT, July 31, 2012

Interior, Army Reserves set to expand Great Outdoors program

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and U.S. Army Reserve Chief Lieutenant General Jeffrey Talley will sign an agreement to increase veteran and reservist employment opportunities in America’s Great Outdoors conservation program.

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