On May 11 , 2010 , in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill , Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that MMS would be restructured so that the safety and environmental functions are carried out by a unit with full independence from MMS in order to ensure that federal inspectors will have more tools , resources , and greater authority to enforce laws and regulations that apply to oil and gas companies operating on the Outer Continental Shelf . Another outcome of the spill was the retirement of the associate director for offshore energy and minerals management at the time of the spill , Chris Oynes
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Minerals Management Service