Burgeoning workloads ahead for Interior agencies The Minerals Management Service might need as much as $140 million in new appropriations to regulate new offshore drilling projects, according to agency officials. MMS is one of two federal agencies that oversee energy projects on federal lands, and both will see their workloads increase markedly in the next few years. At MMS, it’s because of the lapsed ban on offshore oil drilling, which opens millions of acres of coastal lands to exploration. The Bureau of Land Management, meanwhile, will have two new responsibilities: issuing oil shale exploration leases, and managing new geothermal projects on millions of acres of federal land. The new work means both Interior Department agencies could need big budget bumps in years to come. At BLM, the most immediate priority is the geothermal project. The Interior Department last month opened 190 million acres of federal land to geothermal development; companies are already looking to develop some of that land, according to Mike Nudd, BLM’s associate director for minerals, realty and resource protection. Companies are particularly interested in developing land in Western states, like California, Nevada and Wyoming, Nudd said. BLM will probably look to expand its staff in that region, he said....