Transcript Department of the Interior Office of the Solicitor Alaska

Organization and a Brief History
April 19, 2013
The legal work of the Department of the
Interior shall be performed under the
supervision and direction of the Solicitor of
the Department of the Interior, who shall be
appointed by the President with the advice
and consent of the Senate.
60 Stat. 312 (1946), 43 U.S.C. Sec. 1455
Solicitor’s Office – A Little History
 1849 DOI established, included jurisdiction over U.S.
Attorneys who handled DOI legal matters
 DOJ established in 1870, included Assist. AG who
oversaw DOI matters
 1914 DOI Solicitor established, but remained in DOJ
 1926 appropriations for DOI legal work transferred to
DOI from DOJ
 1946 Office of the Solicitor formally created, 43 U.S.C.
Sec. 1466
Solicitor’s Office – A Little History
 DOI legal work remained decentralized, 257 of 287
attorneys in DOI funded and supervised by bureaus
like National Park Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs
 1955 DOI legal work, including funding, centralized in
Solicitor.
 Avoid conflicting legal opinions
 Make attorneys more independent of client
 Part of Effort to make DOI a more cohesive department
 Secretary of the Interior is the client – not individual
bureaus
Organization
Solicitor – Washington D.C.
 Deputy Solicitors
 Five major Divisions
 Headed by career Associate Solicitor
 Ethics
 Indian Trust Litigation Office
 Seven Regional Offices
 Headed by career Regional Solicitor
Solicitor’s Immediate Office
Solicitor – Hilary Tompkins
 Acting Principal Deputy Solicitor (Energy) – Jack
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Haugrud
Deputy Solicitor (Lands) – Ed Boling
Deputy Solicitor (Water) – Fritz Holleman
Deputy Solicitor (General Law) – Edward Keable
Deputy Solicitor (Indian Affairs) – Patrice Kunesh
Deputy Solicitor (Parks & Wildlife) – vacant
DOI Ethics Office
Indian Trust Litigation Office
Headquarters Divisions
Washington, D.C.
Division of General Law – Associate Solicitor
 Acquisitions & Intellectual Property –
Assist. Solicitor
 General Legal Services – Assist. Solicitor
 Personnel Litigation & Civil Rights – Assist.
Solicitor
Headquarters Divisions (cont.)
Division of Indian Affairs – Associate Solicitor
 Environment and Lands – Assist. Solicitor
 General Indian Legal Activities – Assist. Solicitor
 Water & Power – Assist. Solicitor
Headquarters Divisions (cont.)
Land and Water Resources – Associate
Solicitor
 Environmental Compliance and Response – Assist.
Solicitor
 Public Lands – Assist. Solicitor
 Water & Power – Assist. Solicitor
Headquarters Divisions (cont.)
Mineral Resources – Associate Solicitor
 Onshore Mining and Reclamation – Assist
Solicitor
 Petroleum Resources – Assist. Solicitor
 Surface Mining – Assist. Solicitor
Headquarters Divisions (cont.)
Parks and Wildlife – Associate Solicitor
 Environmental Restoration – Assist. Solicitor
 Fish & Wildlife – Assist. Solicitor
 National Parks – Assist. Solicitor
Headquarters Divisions (cont.)
Division of Administration
 Information Services
 Resource Management and Administrative
Operations
Seven Regional Offices
 Alaska (Anchorage)
 Intermountain (Salt Lake City) + Phoenix Field
Office
 Northeast (Boston) + Pittsburgh and Twin Cities,
Minnesota Field Offices
 Pacific Northwest (Portland) + Boise Field Office
 Pacific Southwest (Sacramento) + San Francisco
Field Office
Regional Offices (cont.)
 Rocky Mountain (Denver) + Billings Field Office
 Southeast Region (Atlanta) + Knoxville Field
Office
 Southwest Regional Office (Albuquerque) + Tulsa
Field Office
Department of the Interior in Alaska
 Office of the Secretary – Pat Pourchot, Special
Assistant for Alaska Affairs (Senior Advisor for
Alaska Affairs position in D.C. vacant)
 Bureau of Indian Affairs – Alaska Region
 Bureau of Land Management – Alaska State Office
 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Region 7, Alaska
 National Park Service – Alaska Region
Department of the Interior in Alaska (cont.)
 U.S. Geological Survey – Alaska Science Center
 Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) –
Alaska Region
 Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement
(BSEE) – Alaska Region
 Office of Aviation Services (OAS) – Alaska Region
Solicitor’s Office – Alaska Region
 Located in Anchorage
 Regional Solicitor – Reports to Deputy Solicitor
 8 Attorney – Advisors
 2 support staff
 Paralegal
 Administrative Assistant
Solicitor’s Office – Alaska Region
 Geographic coverage of the Alaska Regional Solicitor’s
Office matches the DOI bureau regions in Alaska
 Provides legal counsel to all DOI bureaus in Alaska
(except Annette Island Reserve which is handled by
Pacific NWR Regional Office out of Portland)
 Some Attorneys are lead attorneys for particular
bureaus, but the size of the office dictates that they
can be assigned any matter for any bureau
 Alaska Region does not have a field office
Solicitor’s Office Coordination w/
Washington, D.C. Headquarters
 Regional Solicitor is organizationally on par with
Associate Solicitor’s in Washington, D.C.
 Regional Office coordinates with appropriate Deputy
and Associate Solicitors on topics of national
importance or controversy
Regional Solicitor’s Office Relationship w/
Department of Justice
 Department of Justice handles all court litigation for
DOI
 U.S. Attorney’s Office in Alaska
 5 Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys for Magistrate Court
 DOJ Division Environment and Natural Resources
 Torts Branch of DOJ in Washington, D.C.
 Appellate Division
Solicitor’s Office – Alaska Region Focus
 Land Conveyance
 Alaska Statehood Act
 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
 Alaska Native Allotment Act (Act of 1906)
 Land and Resource Management Issues
 National Parks
 National Wildlife Refuges
 NPR-A
 Mining Claims
 Submerged Lands
Solicitor’s Office – Alaska Region Focus
 Oil and Gas Development – Onshore & Off Shore
 NPR-A
 OCS
 Subsistence
 Alaska Natives
 Lands (ANCSA, Native Allotments, land in trust)
 Indian Self-Determination Act