States Receive More Than $1 Billion From Share of Federal Mineral Revenues

(WASHINGTON) -- Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton announced today that 36 states received more than $1 billion during 2003 as part of their share of federal revenues collected by the department's Minerals Management Service.

The $1,096,699,888 distributed to states during the year, was nearly 46 percent more than 2002 payments to states that totaled $753 million.

"Responsible energy development on public lands and offshore areas contribute greatly to states and local governments," Norton said. "The money enables local governments to fund important projects for the betterment of communities and the lives of Americans."

The nearly $1.1 billion distributed through December of last year represents the states' cumulative share of revenues collected from mineral production on federal lands located within their borders and from federal offshore oil and gas tracts adjacent to their shores.

"In many cases states share their revenues with counties, which apply the money to meet needs like infrastructure improvements and school funding," MMS Director Johnnie Burton said.
During calendar year 2003, the state of Wyoming again led all states by receiving more than $503 million as its share of revenues collected from mineral production on federal lands within its borders, including oil, gas and coal production. New Mexico's share was more than $318 million; while $62.7 million was received by the state of Colorado. Other states sharing revenues included Utah with more than $54.4 million, Louisiana with $31.5 million, Montana at $26.9 million, and California with more than $25.3 million. (Complete table provided below.)

A state is entitled to a share of the mineral revenues collected from federal lands located within that state's boundaries. For the majority of onshore federal lands, states receive 50 percent of the revenues while the other 50 percent goes to various funds of the U.S. Treasury, including the DOI Reclamation Fund. Alaska receives a 90 percent share as prescribed by the Alaska Statehood Act. States may also receive appropriations from the offshore royalty-funded Land and Water Conservation Fund to help them with park and land acquisitions.

In addition, coastal states with producing federal offshore tracts adjacent to their seaward boundaries receive 27 percent of those mineral royalties. Remaining offshore revenues collected by the Minerals Management Service are deposited in various accounts of the U.S. Treasury, with the majority of those revenues going to the General Fund.

MMS is the federal agency in the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages the nation's oil, natural gas and other mineral resources on the outer continental shelf in federal offshore waters. The agency also collects, accounts for and disburses mineral revenues from federal and American Indian lands. Between 1982 and 2003, MMS distributed more than $135 billion in revenues from onshore and offshore lands, an average of more than $6 billion per year, to the nation, states and American Indians. Nearly $1 billion from those revenues go into the Land and Water Conservation Fund annually for the development of state and federal park and recreation lands.