The Interior Department's top offshore drilling regulator will lead the agency's new Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), where he will oversee inspections, enforcement and safety of offshore oil and gas development.

Michael Bromwich, who since June 2010 has served as director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, will lead BSEE until a replacement is picked, Interior said.

The agency also announced the selection of BOEMRE senior adviser Tommy Beaudreau to serve as director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), where he will oversee energy leasing and planning on the nation's waters.

Creation of the new bureaus will complete a year-and-a-half transformation of the former Minerals Management Service following the deadly BP PLC explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Bromwich and Beaudreau will begin their posts at the beginning of October.

"We have moved quickly and thoughtfully to create strong and separate agencies to manage offshore energy development, collect energy revenues and to oversee safety and environmental protection on the outer continental shelf," said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar in a statement.

Salazar called Bromwich a "top-flight manager" who demonstrated a knack for solving problems and implementing reforms in both the government and private sector.

He called Beaudreau "an engine behind the many changes BOEMRE has made to raise the bar for safety and environmental protection."

Their appointments follow the establishment of new regulations after the spill to improve worker safety, increase corporate accountability and require the capacity to respond to spills, among other things.

Both men will likely face continued pressure from industry and lawmakers to match or exceed pre-Deepwater Horizon levels of development.

The changes also come as Interior grapples with decisions over whether to allow exploratory drilling in the Arctic Ocean and where to allow leasing in its new five-year plan. Both decisions will be closely watched.

While leading BSEE, Bromwich will oversee the development and enforcement of safety and environmental rules, as well as research and inspections, oil spill response and newly formed training and environmental compliance programs. He will also oversee the issuance of individual drilling permits.

His temporary appointment worries some in the environmental community who fear his departure could lead to the unraveling of important systemic and regulatory reforms, said Peter Van Tuyn, an environmental attorney in Alaska.

"I think there's real potential that you bring in some rollbacks here," said Van Tuyn, adding that he would like to see Bromwich stay long enough to oversee each of the agency's statutory functions, including the crafting of a five-year leasing plan, lease sales, explorations and development plans.

"It's a challenging job, but it really does cause me concern that if he leaves before being involved in at least one of every type of decision the agency makes, that rollbacks will occur, that risks will be greater," he said.

Transparency, predictability

Industry officials and lobbyists said they hoped with the final split of BOEMRE that Interior could improve transparency in the permitting process and increase certainty for operators.

However, one energy lobbyist said he has concerns with environmental reviews being conducted by two agencies.

"Where rubber hits road, short-term, is 'What happens when, within the lease of a company, BOEM has to pass it off to BSEE?'" he said. "Is that going to be a pain-free experience?"

Bromwich, who pointed to a report this week in The Wall Street Journal that activity in the Gulf of Mexico is near pre-Macondo levels, warned that the agency still needs more drilling engineers and inspectors to do its job effectively, particularly if the pace of development proposals increases.

"He has made progress, everyone in the industry agrees with that," said Jim Noe, senior vice president and general counsel of Hercules Offshore Inc., regarding Bromwich. "The biggest missing piece is the lack of predictability in the system."

Noe called the status of drilling permits before they are accepted for formal review a "never-never land" where companies are left to wait.

He said he also has concerns with the agencies' ability to share their respective oversight roles.

"The same expertise that's needed to review plans is also needed to review permits," Noe said. "Will we have created an internal inefficient system for getting wells drilled? We're anxious to see how that's going to work in practice."