Secretary Ken Salazar to Leave Post as Secretary of the Interior

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Since 2009, Interior has authorized 34 solar, wind and geothermal energy projects on public lands that total 10,400 megawatts – or enough to power over 3 million homes. Salazar also oversaw a visionary blueprint for solar energy development in the West and established the nation's first program for offshore wind leasing and permitting in America’s oceans.

Secretary Ken Salazar at the Glen Canyon Dam

"Today, the largest solar energy projects in the world are under construction on America's public lands in the West, and we've issued the first leases for offshore wind in the Atlantic,"

said Salazar.

"I am proud of the renewable energy revolution that we have launched."

Salazar has also undertaken an historic overhaul of Interior's management of oil and gas resources, implementing tough new ethics standards for all employees. He led Interior's response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and split the former Minerals Management Service into three independent agencies with clear, independent missions to oversee ocean energy management and revenue collection. Interior has offered millions of acres offshore in the Gulf of Mexico for safe and responsible exploration and development and is proceeding with cautious exploration of Arctic resources. Onshore, Interior has also leased millions of acres for oil and gas development over the last four years while protecting special landscapes for hunting and fishing and other uses.

"We have undertaken the most aggressive oil and gas safety and reform agenda in U.S. history, raising the bar on offshore drilling safety, practices and technology and ensuring that energy development is done in the right way and in the right places,"

said Salazar.

"Today, drilling activity in the Gulf is surpassing levels seen before the spill, and our nation is on a promising path to energy independence."

"I have had the privilege of reforming the Department of the Interior to help lead the United States in securing a new energy frontier, ushering in a conservation agenda for the 21st century, and honoring our word to the nation's first Americans,"

added Salazar.

"I thank the more than 70,000 employees at the Department for their dedication to our mission as custodians of America's natural and cultural resources. I look forward to helping my successor in a seamless transition in the months ahead."

Salazar, a fifth-generation Coloradoan, has served his state and the nation for 14 continuous years as Colorado Attorney General, United States Senator and as the 50th secretary of the US Department of the Interior.

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posted January 16, 2013 11:50 am est