sufficiency. The goal of the present program is to provide a 

 maximum sustainable level of leasing consistent with industry 

 capability for exploration and efficient development. 



The Secretary of the Interior has responsibility for the conserva- 

 tion and development of mineral resources on Federal lands of the 

 United States, including those of the Nation's OCS. Under his 

 direction DOI's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has general 

 responsibility for administration of the OCS lease system, including 

 all aspects of planning and preparation for lease sales, conducting 

 them, issuing and terminating leases, and collecting associated 

 revenues. The Department's U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 

 provides technical support to BLM for those phases of the lease 

 system involving the assessment and classification of mineral 

 values. The USGS also has responsibilities for regulating presale 

 mineral exploration; for supervising post sale lease tract exploration, 

 development, and production, and for collecting rents and royalties. 

 The OCS activities of BLM and USGS parallel their responsibilities 

 for mineral leasing and development of onshore Federal lands. OCS 

 activities involve many aspects of the Federal Ocean Program, 

 include many cooperative efforts, and are complemented by 

 supporting services and regulatory programs of other Federal 

 agencies. 



The goals of the BLM and USGS programs are 



(1) To provide for orderly and timely development of OCS mineral 

 and energy resource potentials 



(2) To protect and maintain a clean OCS environment 



(3) To assure safety and maximum efficiency of industry opera- 

 tions 



(4) To obtain a fair return from industry operations for the Federal 



Government 



Components of the lease system, management program, and 

 concurrent industry activities are summarized in table 1. Bureau 

 responsibilities are indicated parenthetically. 



Figure 1 is the tentative lease schedule issued in late 1974 in 

 response to the President's call for maximum acceleration of lease 

 offerings. This schedule, based chiefly on general USGS resource 

 assessments, technological considerations, and BLM economic 

 analyses, is subject to continuing review and change. One purpose of 

 releasing schedules, such as this one, is to solicit views for 

 incorporation in revisions. One widely publicized example of a 

 change in this schedule was the postponement of all activities 

 relating to a proposed sale along the Mid-Atlantic coast pending the 

 Supreme Court's decision on the claim of Atlantic States to OCS 

 resource jurisdiction. 



10 



