Chris Oynes, the top Interior Department official who oversees offshore oil and gas drilling for the Minerals Management Service, announced Monday that he will retire on May 31, The Washington Post has learned.
Oynes, who has overseen oil and gas leasing in the Gulf of Mexico for 12 years before being promoted to MMS associate director for offshore energy and minerals management, has come under fire for being too close to the industry officials he regulated.
His announcement comes as Interior Secretary Ken Salazar unveiled a series of reforms on how the department will conduct onshore oil and gas drilling.
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