California Oil/Gas Official Resigns Amid Legal, Political Challenges

摘要

Mark Nechodom, director of the California Department of Conservation (DOC), resigned suddenly Friday in the midst of increasing legal and political challenges alleging conspiracies and lack of oversight of the oil and natural gas industry. Nechodom sent a one-paragraph letter to Resources Agency head John Laird, saying that he was leaving his job but giving no reasons for the departure. The letter came within days of a federal lawsuit that named Nechodom, Gov. Jerry Brown and major oil/gas producers, alleging a conspiracy between the state and the industry that violated federal racketeering laws (see Daily GPI, June 5).