News In Brief

An inspector general US post in coal-sale dispute

The Interior Department's inspector general, Richard Mulberry, is resigning amid a controversy involving the largest coal lease sale in United States history. He was the target of a General Accounting Office investigation in June that accused him of failing to look into allegations that Interior officials leaked confidential information to a coal company before the 1982 Powder River Basin coal lease sale.

Mr. Mulberry is the second inspector general working for the Reagan administration to quit in less than a month.