FOR RELEASE:  June 17, 1994              CONTACT:  John Barclay
                                                 (202) 208-5890


              MMS WINS NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD (#40041)


     The U.S. Interior Department's Minerals Management Service
(MMS) has been awarded the 1994 Federal Environmental Quality
award.

     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.

     Fry accepted the award from the representatives of the
President's Council on Environmental Quality during NAEP's annual
conference in New Orleans, LA, this week.

     "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-06/17/94 Environmental Award/MMS Wins National
Environmental Award (#40041)