WILLIAM L. FISHER PAPERS, 1976-77

William Fisher joined the Department of the Interior as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy and Minerals in April 1975. Upon the departure of Assistant Secretary Jack Carlson in February 1976, Fisher moved up to that position.

The Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Energy and Minerals had oversight over the following offices:

Alaska Power Administration
Bonneville Power Administration
Bureau of Mines
Defense Electric Power Administration
Geological Survey
Mining Enforcement and Safety Administration
Ocean Mining Administration
Office of Minerals Policy Development
Office of Research and Development
Southeastern Power Administration
Southwestern Power Administration

He had direct responsibility for programs associated with mineral data and analysis; generation, transmission, and marketing of electric power; mine health, safety and training programs; topographic, geologic, and mineral resources matters; energy, metallurgical, and mining research and development; and emergency preparedness and natural disaster energy and mineral functions.

Fisher's papers are by no means a complete record of his work in the Department of the Interior. He left behind the bulk of his files at the Department as official records.

The Fisher personal papers at the Ford Library consist of his chronological file of outgoing memoranda and letters and two briefing books. No incoming documents or related studies and reports are included. Only a few documents date from before his promotion to Assistant Secretary in February 1976.

The major focus of the chronological file is on the administration of government programs involving the leasing of mineral rights for public lands and the continental shelf to private companies. These leases allowed the companies to mine for coal and various minerals and to drill for oil and gas.

Other materials in the chronological file concern such topics as ocean mining, mine safety and health issues, the work of the Geological Survey, mineral stockpiles, the Naval Petroleum Reserve, and the Energy Resources Council.

One briefing book contains issue papers for the Department of the Interior's FY 1976 budget request and the other concerns a proposed activities tracking and reporting system for weekly staff meetings.

Related Materials (As of June 1976)
Materials on the offices supervised by Fisher appear in White House Central Files subject file category FG 19 (Department of the Interior) and its subdivisions. Information on topics handled by Fisher appears in Central Files categories NR 5 (Minerals - Metals), NR 6 (Oil - Gas), and NR 6-1 (Naval Petroleum Reserve). The files of Glenn Schleede, Domestic Council Associate Director for Energy and Science, are another important source of information on many of the same issues.