PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES NEW DRILLING REGULATIONS; CHIEF REGULATOR RESIGNS Today President Obama is announcing new drilling regulations hours after Elizabeth Birnbaum resigned under pressure as head of the Minerals Management Service (MMS), the lead agency overseeing US oil and gas drilling. The MMS has come under fire for lax inspections of the Deepwater Horizon rig prior to its April 20 explosion and an Inspector General’s report that identified inappropriate behavior and industry relationships by agency officials.