FOR RELEASE: October 2, 1995                CONTACT:  Tom DeRocco
                                                   (202) 208-3983
     

             INTERIOR SECRETARY BABBITT NAMES FIVE NEW MEMBERS
           TO THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE 


     Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt has named five
scientists to the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Scientific
Committee of the Minerals Management Advisory Board.  The new
appointees to the 15-member committee are:

     *    Eric A. Crecelius, Ph.D., Technical Group Manager,
Marine Chemistry & Ocean Processes, Battelle Pacific Northwest
Division Marine Sciences Laboratory, Sequim, Washington;

     *    Steven N. Murray, Ph.D., Professor of Biological
Science, California State University, Fullerton;

     *    Henry J. Niebauer, Ph.D., Professor of Marine Science,
School of Fisheries and Ocean Science, University of Alaska,
Fairbanks;

     *    William W. Schroeder, Ph.D., Professor and Coordinator
of the Marine Science Program, University of Alabama, Dauphin
Island; and,

     *    Douglas Wartzog, Ph.D., Associate Vice-Chancellor for
Research and Dean of the Graduate School, University of Missouri,
St. Louis.

     "The OCS Scientific Committee members advise the Director of
the Minerals Management Service (MMS) and the Secretary of the
Interior on the feasibility, appropriateness and scientific value
of the agency's Environmental Studies Program," explained MMS
Director Cynthia Quarterman.  "We feel fortunate to have these
five scientists agree to join us in such an important endeavor. 
Their expertise and credentials in their chosen field are
impeccable, and we look forward to working with them."

     Quarterman said that the main function of the Environmental
Studies Program (ESP) is to obtain environmental information
through research to be considered in the decision-making process
at all stages of the offshore oil, gas and minerals management
program.  The program operates under the following objectives:

     *    to provide information on the status of the environment
upon which the prediction of impacts of OCS minerals extraction
may be based;

     *    to provide information on the ways and extent that OCS
minerals extraction can potentially impact the human, marine and
coastal environments; 

     *    to ensure that information already available or being
collected under the program is in a form that can be used in the
decision-making process associated with a specific leasing
action, exploration and development activities and other OCS
minerals management responsibilities; and,

     *    to provide a basis for future monitoring of OCS
operations, including assessments of short-term impacts
attributable to the OCS minerals management program.

     The OCS Scientific Committee reviews the relevance of
proposed studies and of data being produced by the program, and
may recommend changes in the program's scope, directions and
emphasis.

     Members are appointed on the basis of their scientific
competence, reputation within their particular fields of
expertise and ability to evaluate important elements of the OCS
Environmental Studies Program.  An effort is made to balance
membership with respect to technical skills and geographic
representation.  Committee members are appointed by the Secretary
of the Interior for two-year terms, and may be appointed to serve
two additional two-year terms.  Except for reimbursement of
travel and per diem expenses, committee members serve without
compensation.

     The MMS is the federal agency that manages the Nation's
natural gas, oil and other mineral resources on the OCS, and
collects and disburses about $4 billion yearly in revenues from
offshore federal mineral leases and from onshore mineral leases
on Federal and Indian lands. 

                                   -MMS-