FOR RELEASE:  June 2, 1994                 CONTACT:  John Barclay
                                                   (202) 208-5890

              MMS WINS NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD (#40037)


     The U.S. Interior Department's Minerals Management Service
(MMS) has been selected as a winner of the 1994 Federal
Environmental Quality award, officials of that agency have learned.

     MMS was selected for the honor by the National Association of
Environmental Professionals (NAEP), which seeks to recognize
agencies that have achieved excellence through implementation of
the National Environmental Policy Act.  MMS is being recognized for
successfully integrating environmental values into its agency
mission and its commitment to excellence in environmental decision
making.

     Ray Clark of the President's Council on Environmental Quality
will present the award to MMS officials June 14 at NAEP's annual
conference in New Orleans, LA.

     "This award is further proof that MMS's top-quality team of
professionals is committed to the administration's goals of
enhancing and safeguarding the environment," said Interior
Secretary Bruce Babbitt.  "The mission of MMS is to assure that the
strongest protective measures for the marine environment are
maintained while the nation's offshore energy resources are
responsibly developed."

     MMS is the agency which manages and regulates the nation's
natural gas, oil and other mineral resources on the Outer
Continental Shelf, and which collects and disburses royalties from
onshore mineral leases on Federal and Indian lands.

                              -MMS-

Subject: PR-06/02/94 NAEP/MMS Wins National Environmental Award
(#40037)