Dear Secretary Salazar:

The Department of the Interior ("Department") established the Investigations and Review Unit ("IRU") in 2010, reportedly to respond to allegations of wrongdoing and unethical behavior by the offshore oil and gas industry and the Department officials who regulate those activities and to help coordinate the Department's response to significant events, including accidents,spills, and other crises.

Michael Bromwich, former director of the Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement, created the IRU as part of the Department's broader reorganization of offshore regulatory and permitting functions, explaining, "[I]t is critical that we have an internal compliance and investigations team that can act quickly and report directly tome.,,1 More than two years after its creation, little is known about the IRU's personnel,organization, and activities.

Read the entire letter HERE.