Interior Department cuts mineral payments to 35 states
AP Petoskey News-Review The US Department of Interior is cutting federal mineral payments to 35 states by about $110 million this fiscal year as part of the automatic federal spending cuts that started this month.
The Interior Department plans to split the Minerals Management Service into two divisions, one focusing on gathering royalties from oil and gas companies and another focused on safety inspections, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Tuesday.