| Office of the Secretary | Contact: Tanna Chattin |
| For Immediate Release: February 12, 2002 | 202-273-3913 |
Oil/ Gas Payments Will Be Paid to Indian Beneficiaries
Now, Department of
Interior Will Reconcile Accounts Later
Secretary Of The Interior Norton Authorizes Payments on Estimated Basis
(WASHINGTON) - Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton announced she has authorized the Office of Trust Funds Management to begin issuing estimated oil and gas payments to Indian trust beneficiaries.
"I am glad that we are able to get estimated payments moving," Norton said. "The past couple of months have been frustrating for all involved. This is a very high priority for the department, and we are working aggressively to manage these accounts and ensure that estimated payments are made to individual Indians."
The estimated payments will be based on a percentage of payments made to individuals during the three most recent months when checks were issued, according to Norton.
The delay in issuing lease payments to individual Indians is associated with a Dec. 5, 2001, Temporary Restraining Order issued by U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, which required the department to disconnect from the Internet all information technology systems that housed or provided access to individual Indian trust data.
Currently, the income from oil and gas leasing can't be forwarded to the Office of Trust Funds Management for distribution. Because new oil and gas revenues are not being processed and deposited to the owners' accounts, no payments have been made since Dec. 5.
Since December, a team of computer experts and technicians have been evaluating Interior's information technology systems, improving the protection of individual Indian trust data and taking the steps to gain the court's permission to reconnect the department's computer system to the Internet.
In late January, the court gave its permission to activate the Integrated Records Management System to process grazing and timber lease payments. The Department of the Interior has trust responsibilities for American Indians, dating back to 1887, and manages, among other things, rents and royalties from grazing, mining, logging and oil drilling on Indian lands.
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