FOR RELEASE:  January 27, 1994       CONTACT:  John Barclay
                                              (202) 208-3983

           MMS ADDS ANCHORAGE MEETING ON PROPOSED OPA 90 RULE;
                AGENCY SEEKS TO GATHER MORE PUBLIC INPUT (#40006)

      The Interior Department's Minerals Management Service (MMS)
today announced that it has set Feb. 16, 1994, for a workshop in
Anchorage, AK, to afford interested parties a chance to give
their opinions on the agency's Advanced Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking on the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90). 

      That law requires that operators of offshore oil facilities
prove they can be financially responsibility for damages from oil
spills up to $150 million.  Current law requires proof of
financial responsibility for $35 million.  OPA 90 may also
broaden the definition of "offshore facility," potentially
bringing many under the new requirement who are not subject to
the current one. 

      Other workshops have been held in New Orleans, Houston, San
Francisco and Cleveland.

      The Feb. 16 meeting is set from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the
Loussac Library, 3600 Denali St. in Anchorage. Comments are
sought on several topics, including:

      --Types and locations of "offshore facilities" subject to 
          OPA financial responsibility requirements;
      --Methods available to prove OPA financial responsibility;
      --The interaction of States or Territories and the Federal
          Government in enforcing OPA financial responsibility;
      --Protection for responsible parties, guarantors and other
          financial participants; and,
      --Effects of OPA financial responsibility requirements on
          local and national economic conditions.
          
      An earlier announcement from MMS had extended the comment
period by 66 days, to Feb. 28.  The period had been set to end
Dec. 24, but MMS Director Tom Fry said heavy interest and the
large volume of comments already received dictated a need for
additional time.  "This administration is committed to paying
attention to the needs and opinions of our stakeholders," Fry
said.  "We'll actively seek those opinions, and incorporate them
into our rulemaking wherever we can to the extent they are
consistent with the law and with our responsibility to protect
the environment.

      "That's why we're going the extra mile to make sure
everyone who will be affected has a chance to let us know his or
her reaction," he said.

                                         -MMS-

Subject: PR-1/27/94 OPA90 mtgs/Anchorage Mtg on OPA'90
Added(#30006)