CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A regional administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency who oversaw investigations that involved hydraulic fracturing in Wyoming and asbestos contamination in Montana is resigning.
EPA Region 8 Director James Martin will step down Friday. Martin had announced his resignation to EPA employees Feb. 15.
Martin said in his resignation letter it's time for him to turn his attention to his family.
"Of course, many challenges and opportunities lie ahead, for the agency and the region. Nevertheless, I am supremely confident in your ability to meet those challenges and to improve the lives of the people and communities we serve," Martin wrote.
His resignation occurs while Republicans, including Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana, investigate whether Martin and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson used private email accounts to conduct official business.
"Region 8 Administrator Martin is likely resigning this week in part because of the open investigation about his use of a nonofficial email account to conduct official business," Vitter said in a release Tuesday.
An EPA spokeswoman said Martin is resigning for personal reasons.
Martin has spent more than two years in charge of EPA Region 8, which covers Colorado, North and South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.
